The Logansport Community School Corporation board interviewed five candidates Monday to fill former board member Cyle Dibble’s position.

“I was surprised,” board president Lynne Ness said. “We were very pleased with the amount of interest.”

The position opened up when Dibble accepted an offer as the school district’s technology director last week.

The board interviewed each candidate for a 15 minute time interval Monday with a set of five questions. Candidates were asked if they were ever convicted of a felony or involved in a criminal lawsuit, their personal and work experience, why they want to serve on the school board, if they have had any situations in which confidentiality was a factor and what their interpretation of a school board member is.

The five candidates include Mary Polen, John McIntire, Jeff Smith, Obie Martin and Melissa Hardy.

As part of the school board requirements, all five interested persons lives within the Logansport city limits and submitted a letter of interest and a resume to the board.

“The candidates were very diverse in their background and experience,” Ness said.

Polen worked as a nurse at the Logansport State Hospital for 37 years. McIntire currently works as the operations manager of the Monticello sub-district of INDOT. Smith changed careers after 17 years in radio broadcasting to oversee projects for the county highway department. Martin, a previous Logansport school corp. teacher, works with a publishing company to establish curriculum for text books. Hardy is the corp. treasurer for the Pioneer school district and also serves as treasurer for the Logansport Berry Boosters and the city’s little league board.

Polen said she has always desired serving on the school board and believes that since she is retired she now has the time available to commit to the position.

McIntire explained he currently oversees an annual budget of about $2 million and could contribute to the board’s budgeting procedures. He said he understands the challenge of balancing funds and has had similar experience to the school board in having to make financial cuts. He cut the budget he oversees by 20 percent in the last year.

Giving back to the community is priority for Smith and a catalyst for his interest in serving on the school board.

“I’m a product of Logansport High School and I would like to give back to the community that has been good to me,” Smith said. “I want to serve the city where I live.”

Smith said he understands confidentiality issues from his experience in the news business.

“We would receive news tips or information and have to keep that under our hat, so to speak,” he said.

Making Logansport schools a success is Martin’s goal. He said he wants to be involved to make sure the city has good, efficient schools that use tax dollars well. He also mentioned that his occupation encourages him to stay up-to-date on state education policies – a habit that would be useful on the board as well.

Hardy highlighted her experience both within school districts and from a governmental perspective. Before becoming Pioneer’s treasurer, she worked with the department of local government finance.

Dibble’s replacement will also serve on the Logansport parks board, as it is city ordinance for one school board member to serve on the city’s parks board.

Ness said the board plans to hold a special meeting Monday to nominate one of the five candidates as the newest school board member. The new member will complete the rest of Dibble’s term, which is about two and one half years.

“We have a tough decision to make,” Ness said. “The candidates were all very good.”

• Jennifer Tangeman is a reporter for the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5148 or jennifer.tangeman@pharostribune.com.