Adam Harness
Adam Harness was a candidate for the Delaware Township seat on the Hamilton Southeastern Schools school board in Indiana. Harness was defeated in the by-district general election on November 8, 2016.
Biography
Harness is a web developer at The Prosper Group and is the owner and web developer of Harness Design Indy. He received his B.S. from Purdue School of Engineering and Technology.[1]
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the Hamilton Southeastern Schools school board were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. The Delaware Township incumbent Karen Harmer did not file for re-election, and four newcomers vied for the open spot on the board: Adam Harness, Bradley Jones, Amanda Shera, and Franklin Whelan. Shera won the seat. The Fall Creek Township incumbent Howard Stevenson filed for an additional term on the board, and faced challengers Mike Bottorff and J. Kent Everett. Bottorff succeeded in ousting the incumbent. In the Wayne Township seat, incumbent Sylvia Shepler filed for re-election and defeated challenger Charron Wright. There was no primary.[2][3][4]
Results
| Hamilton Southeastern Schools, Delaware Township General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Amanda Shera |
39.30% | 14,014 |
| Franklin Whelan | 28.74% | 10,247 |
| Adam Harness | 16.18% | 5,770 |
| Bradley Jones | 15.78% | 5,627 |
| Total Votes (100) | 35,658 | |
| Source: Hamilton County, "Election Results," accessed November 9, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Funding
Harness did not file a campaign finance report with the Hamilton County Board of Elections, as of October 24, 2016.[5]
School board candidates in Indiana who received more than $500 in contributions or made more than $500 in expenditures had to have a principal committee. This committee was designated by a candidate to accept contributions and make expenditures to promote him or her for the election. Each committee was required to have a chairperson and a treasurer, and no contribution or expenditure could be accepted or made on behalf of the candidate's committee without the authorization of the chairperson or treasurer.
Once the $500 threshold was reached, the candidate had to also file a Statement of Organization form no later than at noon, 10 days after the candidate exceeded the limit. The requirement to form a principal committee and file a statement was lifted for candidates who did not meet the $500 threshold requirement. The pre-election report was due October 21, 2016, and the annual report was due January 18, 2017.[6]
Campaign themes
2016
Biographical submission
In response to the question, "What is your political philosophy?", Harness gave the following answer:[1]
| “ | My wife and I chose to move to Fishers because Hamilton Southeastern is one of the best districts in the state. I want to ensure that it remains at the top by taking an active role in the school board. Below are my main objectives:
Increasing Communication My first goal as a school board member is to encourage parents, and the community in general, to get more involved in the “big picture” aspects of education – not just what goes on at the school level. I want to help make people more aware of when school board meetings are scheduled, as well as what is on the agenda. After each meeting I also plan to give a quick summary of what was discussed, and any decisions that have been made. I believe with better communication, parents will not be taken by surprise with big decisions that affect everyone in the school district. The speed bump at the end of the iPad rollout could likely have been avoided with better and increased parent involvement. Part of this will be targeting those families with young children who do not yet have students in the schools, as this group was likely the most impacted at the end of the iPad rollout. Balancing Technology Technology is set to become a major part of the school experience in the coming years. I will focus on ensuring that new technology continues to be utilized in the best possible way for our students across the district. While it is not realistic or beneficial to completely remove emerging technology from the curriculum, it is imperative that we recognize when a new technology fails to meet our expectations. As much as we want to focus on the positives and minimize the negatives of a huge initiative, it is very important to take our parents’ and teachers’ concerns seriously and adjust the program as needed to guarantee our students do not suffer for the sake of being “right” on an issue. Ensuring Academic Success Our school district has been proven to provide a challenging K-12 curriculum, including numerous opportunities for students to get involved in the community and local government, earn advanced diplomas through the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, and also to ensure that students who need additional support will receive it. We will continue to achieve academic success by reviewing our current practices and adjusting them as is necessary. I will work hard to ensure that we ask the necessary questions and meet the proper benchmarks when we consider making changes – most importantly dynamic changes such as introducing a large technology initiative such as the 1:1 iPad rollout. Empowering Parents Parents should continue to feel as though their voices are being heard. The opinions of our district’s parents are vital to the school corporation as a whole. Encouraging direct feedback will give the corporation as a whole and individual schools the opportunity to address issues that may otherwise go unnoticed. I will strive to make sure that the school board continues to be responsive when significant concerns are raised.[7] |
” |
| —Adam Harness (2016)[1] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Adam Harness Hamilton Southeastern Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ballotpedia's Biographical Information Submission Form, "Adam Harness' responses," September 15, 2016
- ↑ Hamilton County, "2016 General Election - School Board Member Candidate Filings," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ Hamilton Southeastern Schools, "School Board," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ Hamilton County, "Election Results," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Hamilton County, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed October 24, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Election Division, "2016 Indiana Campaign Finance Manual," accessed October 7, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Hamilton Southeastern Schools Elections | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Delaware Township: Adam Harness • Bradley Jones • Amanda Shera • Franklin Whelan Fall Creek Township: Incumbent, Howard Stevenson • Mike Bottorff • J. Kent Everett |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
