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IPS parents at polls weigh in on what they want for their children

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Plenty of parents with students in Indianapolis Public Schools went to voting centers around Marion County to cast their votes Tuesday for candidates they want to see on the school board.

Parents Nicole Carey, Angelia Moore, Hope Hampton and Kristen Phair were among those who voted and visited a few polls.

While there’s a possible referendum and the Rebuilding Stronger reorganization proposal to think about, a lot of parents say what they wish for their children’s education can be simpler.

Michelle Davis-Berry, one voter, wants more attention on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, sometimes called STEM subjects. “I want the schools to focus on STEM and helping young ladies get ahead of the game, and all students of color, because I feel like they’re underprivileged. They’re not getting the same fair education most other children are.”

Davis-Berry’s granddaughter attends an IPS school, and that’s who she kept in mind while casting her vote at the Municipal Gardens Family Center on the west side.

She wore her “I Voted” sticker proudly on her cardigan, understanding the importance her vote made.

“It’s very important for us to vote because the votes that we count are the decisions we’ve made for our community,” Davis-Berry said.

On the north side at the Martin Luther King Community Center, Brooke Lane voted with her baby son in her arms. She’s thinking ahead to when it’s time for him to go to school and says voting now sets up what may be available to him in the future.

“Just knowing that soon in the next couple of years he will be impacted by the choices that we are voting for today. I definitely want diversity for him to see, not just people that look like him, and even diversity in learning, knowing that every child doesn’t learn in the exact same way,” Lane said.

Over at a church serving as a voting center, Jared Harmon waited outside for his wife to finish voting. He’s been an IPS parent for the last three years with his 7-year old daughter in second grade. They also have a 2-year-old. He values a strong core curriculum for his children’s education.

“Then also just those opportunities to be involved with the community, and learning about sort of the broader world as opposed to just the basics,” Harmon said.

A lot of parents who spoke to News 8 off-camera said they’d like to be heard more by the district when it comes to decisions about their children’s education.