Penn Wm. Michael Penn and Melinda Rossetter are vying for a position on the Delphi Community School Board, representing Tippecanoe Township. The contest will be decided in May by Tippecanoe Township voters, and the winning candidate will begin serving July 1.

In separate interviews with the Comet, the two candidates were each asked why they would make a good school board member, what they thought about public comments at board meetings, and if there are any specific school issues or needs that they wanted to comment on.

Penn has previously served on the school board - from 1998 to 2002. He feels his experience on the board makes him a good candidate to serve another term.

He said it takes about two years to become an effective, contributing board member, so he feels he would already have that learning period behind him.

Penn said he considers another asset to be his long-time involvement in the schools as a parent.

"I've had five children come up through the ranks over the last 17 years," he said. "Three out of the five are out of the house, so I would have the time it takes to devote to the school board."

Rossetter "Being a board member is more that it appears," Penn said. He explained that there is more time involved than just attending regular board meetings.

"It takes extra time to review material, attend work sessions and various other meetings and school functions," he said.

Penn said his occupation, manager of County Line Egg, gives him a good background for serving on the school board.

"I'm responsible for multiple budgets and 33 employees," he said.

Rossetter said she believes she has two particular qualities that would serve her well on the school board.

"The main thing I could contribute is a business sense," she said.

Rossetter works in the Purdue Athletics business office, which she says has given her experience in budgetary matters, procurement, policies and procedures.

She also thinks one of the best attributes a school board member can have is common sense.

"I think I have a lot of common sense," she said.

On the topic of public comments at a board meeting, Penn said, "There are times I would welcome the input, but there are times public comments can overwhelm a meeting - stray away from the topics at hand. We have to come to some happy medium about it so we can run an efficient meeting."

He said he believes if school patrons have questions or concerns, they should contact their representative, and then that board member can bring up the matter to the whole board. If the matter isn't resolved to the patron's satisfaction, then he could ask to be put on the agenda and take it to the board himself, Penn said.

He added that the agenda is posted on the school's Web site (www.delphi.k12.in.us), so patrons can know in plenty of time what will be on the next agenda.

"I've never known any board member who didn't want input from the public, especially from those they represent," Penn continued.

He said if he gets elected, he will base his voting on available data and what is in the best interests of the children, factoring in the feedback from his township.

He said he would not just go along blindly with a recommendation or with the majority vote.

"I've voted no before," he said. "I have no problem going against anything I don't think is the best decision."

He said he has no agenda of something he would like to get passed or stopped if he is elected.

"I have no burning issues," he said. "Besides, you're only one person of seven."

He said one thing a board must do, in general, is keep up on repairs and maintenance.

"To my knowledge, they're doing a good job of that," he said.

Rossetter said she encourages constituents who have questions or comments to contact the board member who represents them. She said if elected, she would welcome their feedback and listen to what they have to say.

"I would vote the way my conscience tells me to vote," she said. "And what the constituents want would drive how I vote."

She also encourages the public to attend board meetings.

"The public should have an opportunity to ask questions, and I think they are given the opportunity now," she said.

Rossetter said she agrees with how public comments are currently handled, as stated recently by board president Bob Resler.

Patrons must sign up prior to the meeting to be able to speak on an agenda item. Otherwise, they can only speak during the public comments time at the end of the meeting. Patrons' comments are limited to two minutes each. The public cannot comment on consent items (including facility usage and claims and payroll) during a meeting, but can direct questions on these items to the board president or superintendent after the meeting.

Rossetter said her goal as a school board member would be to do her job well, even if occasionally that meant ruffling some feathers.

She said she is running for school board for three reasons.

"I'm very concerned about the quality of education of the kids in our community, concerned about the condition of our facilities, and the use of our tax dollars," she said.

If elected, this would be Rossetter's first time on the school board.

"I believe there would be a good size learning curve," she said. "But there are seasoned board members to answer your questions and take you under their wing, and shorten the learning curve. I would count on that."

Both candidates said they have been keeping up with what's happening at school board meetings by reading the official minutes on the corporation Web site and/or reading newspaper coverage of the meetings.