Screenshots from: facebook.com and district.evscschools.com.
When voting for EVSC School Board in District 3, know that there are 4 candidates to consider but you can only vote for two. Among those is a retired teacher with four decades of experience and a long list of accolades and qualifications, a pastor with more than three decades on the board, a former police officer with eight years on the board, and a bar/nightclub owner who is known for hosting drag queen shows for children.
Ruth Baize
Ruth Baize is running for EVSC School Board and her experience in education doesn’t just qualify her. It appears to make her over-qualified. Nevertheless, she has a passion to help children, teachers, school staff, and parents, and hopes to serve the Evansville/Vanderburgh community by bringing the focus of the schools back to education and away from indoctrination.
From her Facebook page: “The field of education has been good to me. Among some of the honors and recognitions that I have been given:
• The Walt Disney Company in the American Teacher Awards;
• State of Indiana History Teacher of the Year
• State of Indiana Geography Teacher of the Year
• Twice: semi-finalist for the National Teacher Hall of Fame
• Vanderburgh County Elementary Teacher of the Year
• Named “Distinguished Alumnus” by the University of Southern Indiana
• Outstanding Cooperating Teacher by the University of Evansville
More importantly, are the honors given me by my students—their smiles, their laughter, their tears. Over the last 40 years before my retirement, I have had THOUSANDS of students. I know what it is to sit with grieving children when their parents are divorcing, when Mom or Dad die; or when a pet has been killed in the street.
I have seen the tears of the child who was bullied or whose best friend says she didn’t want to sit with her anymore. I have had to watch young children shiver when they tell me that they had to hide last night because Dad or Boyfriend was trying to beat up Mom.
Terry Gamblin
I’ve had the Muslim student who observed Ramadan; the Hindu who was upset by kids saying “Holy Cow!”; the colleagues who were Buddhist; the Christian who thought I would yell at him for bringing his Bible into school, and the one who prayed at the lunch table.
I’ve taught White students, Black students, Asians, Puerto Ricans, Africans, Polish, and bi-racial. I’ve taught in an one-stoplight farm town in Ohio; an at-risk, dangerous junior high-high school in upstate New York; and, of course, I taught many years here in Evansville at Delaware, Lodge, Howard Roosa, West Terrace, and Stringtown.
I’ve worked with Kindergartners all the way through to University. I hold an earned masters degree in education from Texas Christian University. I’ve been on national boards, state boards, and area committees. I was even quoted in two publications by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I say all this to show you that I am definitely qualified to be a Board member of the EVSC.”
With the increase of socialism-based programming and the downward spiral of academics in the past decade, Baize says she is running “to make a difference” on the School Board.
Ruth Baize is running against 32-year incumbent school board member Terry Gamblin, 8.-year incumbent and current EVSC School Board President Jeff Worthington, and local bar/nightclub owner Amy Word who is known for hosting drag queen shows for children in her bars on Franklin Street.
Jeff Worthington
Gamblin is the pastor of Howell General Baptist Church on the West Side of Evansville. According to Vote411.org, Gamblin says, “My love for Children and concern for Teachers and all employees give me reason to run for Re-Election.
It is my desire that we provide a well rounded educational experience for all children.”
Worthington is a retired police officer, formerly with the EPD who spent 19 of his 24 years of service in school safety. He now works in computer sales with Quest4 Electronics and PC Quest. As the current EVSC School Board president Worthington strives to help teachers and students to overcome the hurdles they experience today’s school system.
Word, a former science teacher with four years experience at Evans Middle School, has recently indicated that she intends to focus her influence from the school board specifically for the Black Lives Matter Movement, the “Pride” Movement, pinpointing systemic racism and anti-queer policies while touting her fight against the Religious Freedom Restoration Act known as RFRA.
Baize has been attending School Board meetings for over a year, and wants to return the focus of the classroom back onto academics. Knowing the many difficulties teachers experience today, she also says, “I want to RETURN
Amy Word
RESPECT TO THE CLASSROOM. As a Board member, I would work to change the classroom atmosphere so that TEACHERS CAN TEACH and the STUDENTS CAN LEARN.”
Endorsements: Word and Worthington have both been endorsed by the Evansville Teachers Association and the ETA’s political action committee, L-PAC 20. Ruth Baize recently received the personal endorsements of the CEO/Executive Director of (#P4PIN) the Indiana chapter of Purple for Parents (Jennifer McWilliams), the President of Purple for Parents Indiana (Rhonda Miller), as well as endorsements from JPAC, Indiana First PAC, and Young Conservatives of Southwestern Indiana.
Right to Life of Southwestern Indiana graded the four candidates as follows:
Jeff Worthington: F
Amy Word: F
Terry Gamblin: A+
Ruth Baize: A+
Only two of the four candidates for District 3 will be elected to the school board, and each voter will have the opportunity to select two on their ballots, but each voter also has the option to vote for only one so as to increase the margin for their favored candidate.
The Ballot: Since School Board candidates are considered non-partisan, while voting on a straight party ticket you may not see the School Board candidates at the very end of the ballot unless you manually progress to that page. While voting for School Board, be sure to go to the last page of your ballot before casting your vote.
Early Voting begins today and 2020 is a very important election year for us all. Vote smart. Vote your values. But whatever you do… let the voice of the people be heard. Get out there and VOTE!
If you would like to learn more about the candidates, there will be a Vanderburgh School Board Candidate Forum this Thursday at 6pm at the C.K. Newsome Center. The VIP News will be livestreaming this event via Facebook.
