A desire to bring about a better future for children has promoted former North Putnam High School athletic director Roger Busch to enter the race for the Jackson Township seat on the North Putnam School Board. 

Busch will look to unseat incumbent Joanie Knapp for the seat in November's general election.  

He told The Putnam County Post the future depends upon delivering excellence to the youngest members of the community. 

"This means listening to teachers, families, and community members when determining policies. It means holding leadership accountable. It means being transparent and honest, about our school district’s successes and shortcomings. And it means getting to work on what needs to be improved.

Getting the job done is important to me. Results matter," Busch said.

Busch said children should be the purpose, and it is the board's responsibility to "wrap them in a healthy environment that delivers a solid education and the tools to become contributing, good citizens."

"Many aspects of our school district are working well. But there are some problems that need to be addressed. In short, we have lost vision and purpose. Students and Teachers should be at the forefront of every decision a school board makes. It is my experience that the best solutions are sourced from an open and honest dialogue by all the stakeholders: the students, families, teachers, and community members. My goal as a board member would be to press the shortcomings that need to be addressed to help find commonsense solutions," Busch admitted.

While he has never run for a school board position prior to this, Busch is encouraging voters in the North Putnam School District to do research on each candidate and ask questions.

And, he has a question for the North Putnam community.

"Have you been pleased with the leadership and direction of the school corporation over the past 4-12 years? That is a very serious question that we need to find the answers for and do our best in the future to make North Putnam a great place for our children," Busch said. 

Busch is a father of three students in the North Putnam School District, grew up in Russellville and moved to Roachdale, where he was raised by a single mother. 

"She worked two jobs to raise me. My mother, Rose, is still a hero to me. And she’s a wonderful grandmother. I graduated from North Putnam in 1992, and then attended Wabash College from 1992-96, where I subsequently coached track from 2005-15. From 2017-21, I was the high school athletic director at North Putnam. During my time as North Putnam athletic director I was able to secure increases in stipends for extracurricular coaches and sponsors that had been previously stagnant for 15-plus years," Busch said.

Busch said his experiences within education, both at the college and high school levels, have prepared him for the possibility to run for school board.

"My experience working within education—both at the collegiate and high school levels—has given me a commonsense understanding of what children, families, and communities need to be healthy and successful. I am eager to put that experience to work for our children and for our community. None of this is easy. But the hard work is worth it. Our children are worth it. My three beautiful daughters are worth it," Busch said.