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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

West Lafayette School Board

3 seats on the West Lafayette Com School Corp's board are on this year's ballot, with 4 names on them, alongside a question for the same voters. Which seats appear on your ballot depends on where in the corporation you live.

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What a school board does

A school board is the elected or appointed governing body of a public school corporation, the legal unit that runs a local school district [1, 2]. The board hires and evaluates the superintendent, adopts policies, and approves the annual budget, while the superintendent and staff run schools day to day [3]. Most boards have five or seven members serving staggered four-year terms [3]. Starting in 2026, candidates may list a political party, run as independents, or list no affiliation on the ballot, and there is no primary for these seats [2, 4].

Term
4 years, with elections staggered so part of the board is chosen every two years [3]
Elected
At the November general election (November 3, 2026, or November 2028 for some seats); depending on the local organization plan, members represent the whole school corporation (at large) or a district within it, and some boards are wholly or partly appointed [2]
Ballot label
Each candidate chooses a party label, 'Independent', or no affiliation, shown next to the name; no primary and no straight-ticket voting for these races [2, 4]
Pay
Set by board resolution: an annual amount of no more than 10% of the lowest starting teacher salary in the school corporation, plus a capped per diem [5]
On the 2026 ballot
632 races in 276 school corporations; 1,035 candidates, 197 races contested [6]
What the law puts in this job (12)
  • Hires, evaluates and can dismiss the superintendent, and approves the hiring and firing of principals, teachers and other staff recommended by the superintendent [1, 7, 3].
  • Adopts the annual budget, appropriates funds and oversees school finances [1, 3].
  • Decides whether to ask voters to approve an operating referendum (an extra property tax levy); the board adopts the resolution and the Department of Local Government Finance reviews the ballot language for compliance with state law [8].
  • Approves contracts, buys and sells property, and decides on construction, repair and demolition of school buildings [1].
  • Bargains with the teachers' union over salary, wages and wage-related benefits such as health insurance and retirement; state law excludes teacher evaluation procedures from those bargaining subjects [9].
  • Writes and updates policies and rules for schools, often in a policy handbook, including the student handbook [1, 3].
  • Buys curricular materials, provides them to students without charge, and runs programs such as student transportation and school lunch [1].
  • Must adopt a process for parents and residents to ask that library material be removed as obscene or harmful to minors, review requests at public meetings and keep a public catalog of library materials [10].
  • Hears written appeals of student expulsions, unless the board has voted not to hear them [11].
  • Must take official action openly; Indiana's Open Door Law says public agencies' official action is to be conducted openly so the people may be fully informed [12, 13].
  • A school board member must have lived in the school corporation (and, for a district seat, the district) for at least one year before the election, and a teacher or other employee of the school corporation may not serve on its board [2].
  • What the board does not control: the State Board of Education adopts statewide academic standards [14], the General Assembly sets the state school funding formula in the state budget [15], and voucher (Choice Scholarship) eligibility is set by state law [16].

The job in full — what the Indiana Code puts in it, what it pays, and what to ask a candidate.

About West Lafayette Com School Corp

  • West Lafayette Community School Corporation serves the central part of the city of West Lafayette (not the whole city) through three schools: West Lafayette Elementary, West Lafayette Intermediate and West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School [24]. Superintendent Shawn Greiner reported 2,309 students on Sept. 14, 2026, slightly above the same point a year earlier, with kindergarten enrollment at a record low of 125 [25].
  • The board of school trustees has seven members, all elected at large by every voter in the district, in staggered elections: three seats were on the 2022 ballot and four on the 2024 ballot [26, 27, 28]. Current members are Amy Austin (president), Laurence Wang (vice president), George Lyle (secretary), Dacia Mumford, Melissa Prochnau, David Purpura and Yue Yin [29].
  • Seats on the 2026 ballot: three at-large seats, so voters may choose up to three of the four candidates, matching the state list [30, 6]. They are the seats filled in 2022, held now by Mumford, Wang and Prochnau [26, 29]. Mumford and Wang are seeking second terms [30]. Rachel Witt, who held the third seat, submitted her resignation effective July 31, 2026, and the board chose Prochnau on Aug. 10, 2026 to fill the vacancy until Dec. 31, 2026; Prochnau is not on the ballot [31, 32, 6].
  • Operating referendum (Nov. 3, 2026 ballot): on June 8, 2026 the board voted 6-0 to put an operating tax question on the ballot; Mumford and Wang voted yes and Yin did not vote because she attended virtually [31]. The question would allow a referendum tax rate of up to $0.5706 per $100 of assessed value for up to eight years, replacing the current $0.37 rate that voters approved in 2010 and renewed in 2017 and 2023 [33, 34]. The district says the 2025 property-tax law SEA 1 shrinks the tax base so the current rate would raise less money each year through 2031, that referendum money pays more than 50 teachers plus maintenance and transportation costs, and that it intends to levy only what is needed to keep revenue level [34, 35]. If the question fails, the current levy continues to 2031 and the district says it would cut budgets or spend reserves, with layoffs likely [35].
  • 2027 budget: after the county certified higher-than-expected assessed values, the superintendent told the board on Sept. 14, 2026 that he would recommend keeping the referendum rate at 37 cents for 2027; the board held its budget hearing that night and set adoption, including a resolution of budget reductions, for Oct. 1, 2026 [25, 36].
  • Library board appointments (August–October 2026): the board split 3-3 on Aug. 10, 2026 over reappointing a West Lafayette Public Library board member; Mumford, Wang and Yin voted to postpone so the board could first adopt an appointment process, and Austin, Lyle and Purpura voted to reappoint [32]. The board then advertised the seat, adopted a written appointment process and interviewed three applicants in September [25].
  • Other 2026 board business includes a $717,000 contract for natatorium repairs and a $940,000 chiller replacement at the junior-senior high school, a revised student cell-phone policy, and a special education staffing update [32, 31].
  • Forum: West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School AP Government students held a candidate forum on Oct. 5, 2026 at West Lafayette Intermediate School with all four candidates, who discussed district funding, artificial intelligence and audience concerns [30]. A full free account of the candidates' answers was not found.
  • Key differences: all four candidates say they support the district's direction on teaching and finances, but they differ on how the board should work. Mumford says candidates should run independently rather than as a slate and calls for more public information and community input [37, 38]. Koliantz and Robinson stress board unity and collaboration, and have many of the same endorsers, including board president Amy Austin and former board president Rachel Witt [39, 40, 41]. Wang points to his work as vice president and finance committee chair [42].

West Lafayette Community School Board

4 candidates · 3 seats

Maria Koliantz

Nonpartisan

Construction project manager and West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation board member making her second run for the board [53, 28].

Koliantz's background

  • Is a project manager with Summit EPC, a West Lafayette general contractor, and holds a Purdue degree in building construction management [53].
  • Worked for the Detroit Public Schools Foundation in accounts payable, grant compliance and budget management, and served as a PTA treasurer and president in Detroit [53, 54].
  • Joined the West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation board in August 2022 [53].
  • Is a parent of students in the district [55].
  • Ran for the board in 2024 and finished sixth of six candidates for four seats, with 15.36% of the vote [28].

Koliantz's positions

Budget & taxes

  • Supports the 2026 operating referendum, saying SEA 1 reduces taxable values through 2031, so the rate must rise to keep revenue level, and that the district has committed to collect only what it needs [39].

Teachers & staff

  • Says 'Our teachers are the experts' and that the board should listen to their feedback and speak up for them at the state level [39].

Koliantz on the current officeholder

  • Says she supports the Indiana School Boards Association view that boards set mission, goals, policy and budget while the superintendent handles day-to-day work, and that 'board unity is essential' but 'unity does not equal uniformity' [39]. No statement on specific board votes was found.

How Koliantz got on the ballot

  • Filed for an at-large seat; she is listed as Nonpartisan [6, 54].

Koliantz's endorsements and funding

  • Her website lists endorsements from board president Amy Austin, former board presidents Rachel Witt and Alan Karpick, former board member Doug Masson, State Rep. Chris Campbell, West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation president Brad Cohen, and current and retired district teachers [40]. No campaign finance reports were found.

What we could not find about Koliantz

  • County campaign finance filings were not checked.
  • Remarks at the Oct. 5, 2026 student-led forum could not be confirmed from freely available sources.

Koliantz's campaign website

Sources for Koliantz

Dacia Mumford

Nonpartisan

Incumbent first elected in November 2022, a former district teacher seeking a second term [43, 30].

Mumford's background

  • Taught kindergarten and first grade at West Lafayette Elementary from 2016 to 2019, after working as a substitute teacher and parent-council officer in district schools; she says she is completing a master's degree in social work and plans to work as a mental health therapist for children and teens [43].
  • Is a parent of students in the district [43].
  • Ran for the board in 2020 and was elected in November 2022 [44, 43]. She serves as the board's liaison to the Community Council [36].
  • Publishes a monthly 'Meeting Summaries' newsletter on board meetings, which mixes her account of meetings with her own commentary [37, 45].

Mumford's positions

Budget & taxes

  • In 2022 named financial oversight and transparency as her top issue, saying the board announced $50 million in building projects but borrowed $95 million [26]. Her website repeats this criticism and says 2023 debt payments exceeded debt-fund tax revenue [44].

Teachers & staff

  • Her website says effective teachers matter more than new facilities, that a strong teachers union helps teachers improve their working conditions, and that the district has struggled to attract and keep highly effective teachers [44, 46].

Enrollment & school choice

  • Has said the board should adopt a transfer-student policy setting how many transfer students to accept and how to choose them, rather than leaving it to the superintendent [46].

Transparency & community input

  • Her website says the board should represent the community rather than administrators and union leaders, and credits a 2023 policy change for posting board packets online before meetings [38, 44].
  • Pushed in 2026 for an open, advertised process for the board's library board appointments [32, 25].
  • Said after the Oct. 1, 2026 meeting that 'each candidate should run independently' and that a slate of candidates has run together in every contested West Lafayette board election since 2016 [37].

Curriculum & library policy

  • In 2022 opposed requiring community review of lesson plans or classroom libraries, and called for curriculum reviews to be advertised and open to wider participation [26].

Mumford on the current officeholder

  • Is a current board member. She voted for the 2026 referendum resolution [31]. She abstained on the Aug. 10, 2026 personnel report and voted with Wang and Yin to postpone the library board reappointment [32]. She has said a slate of candidates has run together in every contested board election since 2016 and that this has been 'damaging to our community' [37].

How Mumford got on the ballot

  • Filed for an at-large seat; she is listed as Nonpartisan [6, 46].

What we could not find about Mumford

  • Most policy posts on her website are undated, so it is unclear which reflect 2026 views.
  • No 2026 newspaper questionnaire was found; county campaign finance filings were not checked.
  • Remarks at the Oct. 5, 2026 student-led forum could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
  • No 2026 endorsements or campaign finance reports were found.

Mumford's campaign website

Sources for Mumford

  • About Me (Dacia Mumford (candidate website))

John Alden Robinson, IV

Nonpartisan

Retired Air Force officer and Purdue University computer science lecturer; not a current board member [41, 30].

Robinson's background

  • Served more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as an officer, and now teaches computer science at Purdue University as a lecturer [41].
  • Lives in West Lafayette and is the parent of two West Lafayette graduates [41].

Robinson's positions

Teachers & staff

  • Says he will work to keep pay, working conditions and classroom support strong enough to keep teachers, noting the district competes for staff in a highly educated community [41].

Budget & taxes

  • Says state property-tax changes and the expansion of vouchers are reshaping district budgets and that he would take a 'disciplined, detail-oriented approach' to resources and planning [41].

Academics

  • Wants schools to value trade apprenticeships, military service and technical programs as much as four-year college, citing his own path from enlisting to a GI Bill degree [41].

Robinson on the current officeholder

  • His website says the board's job is 'to make sure good policy is in place and the educators have what they need' rather than run classrooms [41]. No statement on specific board decisions was found.

How Robinson got on the ballot

  • Filed for an at-large seat; he is listed as Nonpartisan [6, 47]. His campaign site uses the name John Robinson [41].

Robinson's endorsements and funding

  • His website lists endorsements from board president Amy Austin, former board presidents Rachel Witt and Alan Karpick, former board member Doug Masson, State Rep. Chris Campbell (House District 26), and West Lafayette Jr/Sr High teachers Randy Studt, Mary Beth Boyd, Lisa Mills and Becky Creech [41]. No campaign finance reports were found.

What we could not find about Robinson

  • No position found on the operating referendum.
  • County campaign finance filings were not checked.
  • Remarks at the Oct. 5, 2026 student-led forum could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
  • Whether he has run for the board or other office before could not be confirmed from freely available sources.

Robinson's campaign website

Sources for Robinson

Laurence Wang

Nonpartisan

Incumbent board vice president first elected in November 2022, with a background in business analysis and finance [48, 29].

Wang's background

  • Describes his work as business analysis, finance and information systems across several industries; in 2022 he described himself as a former business analyst with degrees in business administration, finance and management information systems [49, 48].
  • Has lived in West Lafayette since 2012 and is a parent of students in the district [49].
  • Says he has served as board vice president, chaired the board finance committee, served on the policy committee and took part in the 2024–2025 teacher contract talks; he is the board's liaison to two school foundations [42, 36].

Wang's positions

Budget & taxes

  • Says 'every tax dollar should be spent wisely, transparently,' with a focus on long-term sustainability as schools face financial pressure [51].
  • Says he supported the 2023 operating referendum and the 2024 general obligation bond [42]. He seconded the June 2026 resolution placing the new referendum on the ballot [31].
  • In 2022 wrote that the district's building bonds ($83.9 million in principal, $38.8 million in interest through 2040) were costly, and described a pay-as-you-go alternative, while saying he was not criticizing past boards [48].

Academics

  • In 2022 proposed dual-credit courses with Purdue for high-achieving students and more support for disadvantaged students and students with special needs [26, 48].

Enrollment & school choice

  • Says he helped write a transfer enrollment policy using more than 800 community survey responses [42].
  • In 2022 called flat enrollment the district's biggest challenge and said he favored more educational options, including alternatives to traditional public schools when a student's needs are not met [48].

School safety

  • In 2022 proposed safety policies that follow state law, staff training, funding for cameras and school resource officers, and regular safety reviews [26].

Curriculum & library policy

  • In 2022 said proposals for parents to review lesson plans 'make sense to me', but also said teachers should decide what to share and when, and that posting a full year of plans would be unrealistic [48].

Transparency & community input

  • Wrote in 2022 that school board elections should be nonpartisan and that political action committees should not be involved [48].

How Wang would run the office

  • Lists three priorities for the next four years: strong schools and teachers, fiscal responsibility, and community engagement [51].

Wang on the current officeholder

  • Is a current board member. He says the board has advanced the district's strategic plan, invested in teachers and facilities, updated policies and adopted a fairer transfer enrollment policy [52, 42]. He voted with Mumford and Yin to postpone the August 2026 library board reappointment until a process was in place [32].

How Wang got on the ballot

  • Filed for an at-large seat; he is listed as Nonpartisan [6, 50]. He announced his re-election bid on July 2, 2026 [48].

What we could not find about Wang

  • Most of his detailed statements on curriculum, school choice and debt date from 2022; no 2026 questionnaire was found.
  • Remarks at the Oct. 5, 2026 student-led forum could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
  • No 2026 endorsements were found. No 2026 finance reports were found.

Wang's campaign website

Sources for Wang

On the same ballot

  • West Lafayette Community Schools operating referendum

    School referendum · West Lafayette Community School Corporation

    A levy of up to $0.5706 per $100 and $16.1 million a year for 8 years. The district says it replaces the 37-cent levy, which runs through 2031. Ballot: +$956 a year for a $350,000 median home.

Key points

  • Also on this ballot for the same district: West Lafayette Community Schools operating referendum. A levy of up to $0.5706 per $100 and $16.1 million a year for 8 years. The district says it replaces the 37-cent levy, which runs through 2031. Ballot: +$956 a year for a $350,000 median home. (Indiana DLGF)
  • Other 2026 board business includes a $717,000 contract for natatorium repairs and a $940,000 chiller replacement at the junior-senior high school, a revised student cell-phone policy, and a special education staffing update. (West Lafayette Community School Corporation)
  • Key differences: all four candidates say they support the district's direction on teaching and finances, but they differ on how the board should work. (Based in Lafayette (Dave Bangert))

Sources

Researched Saturday, October 10, 2026

  1. Indiana Code 20-26-5-4: Specific powers of governing body (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  2. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (School Board Offices) (Indiana Election Division)
  3. 800 school board seats are up for election in Indiana (Chalkbeat Indiana / WFYI)
  4. Why there are no education elections on your primary ballot (Chalkbeat Indiana)
  5. Indiana Code 20-26-4-7: Compensation of governing body members (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  6. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  7. Indiana Code 20-26-5-4.5: Selection and discharge of employees (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  8. School Tax Levy Referendum (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  9. Indiana Code 20-29-6-4: Subjects of collective bargaining (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  10. Obscene, or just objectionable? Here's how Indiana schools are tackling library book complaints (Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism / Indiana Capital Chronicle)
  11. Indiana Code 20-33-8-19: Expulsion appeals (FindLaw (Indiana Code))
  12. Indiana Code 5-14-1.5-1: Open Door Law policy (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  13. What We Do (Indiana Public Access Counselor)
  14. Indiana Code 20-31-3-1: State academic standards (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  15. Indiana K-12 State Tuition Support Annual Report FY2023 (Indiana Department of Education)
  16. Indiana lawmakers expand voucher eligibility, increase school funding in budget (Chalkbeat Indiana)
  17. West Lafayette Community School Corporation (Wikipedia)
  18. Minutes, Regular Meeting of the Board of School Trustees, September 14, 2026 (West Lafayette Community School Corporation)
  19. Q&A: 2022 West Lafayette Community School Corporation school board candidates (Lafayette Journal & Courier (via Yahoo News))
  20. My Endorsements for the 2024 West Lafayette School Board Election (A Citizen's Guide to Indiana (Doug Masson blog))
  21. Tippecanoe County school board election winners 2024 (WFYI / WBAA)
  22. School Board of Trustees (directory) (West Lafayette Community School Corporation)
  23. WL school board candidates discuss AI, budget in student-led forum (Purdue Exponent)
  24. Minutes, Regular Meeting of the Board of School Trustees, June 8, 2026 (West Lafayette Community School Corporation)
  25. Minutes, Regular Meeting of the Board of School Trustees, August 10, 2026 (West Lafayette Community School Corporation)
  26. Ballot Question (2026 Referendum) (West Lafayette Community School Corporation)
  27. The Need (2026 Referendum) (West Lafayette Community School Corporation)
  28. FAQs (2026 Referendum) (West Lafayette Community School Corporation)
  29. Agenda, Regular Meeting of the Board of School Trustees, October 1, 2026 (West Lafayette Community School Corporation)
  30. Anger over accusation of political favors flares at West Lafayette school board (Based in Lafayette (Dave Bangert))
  31. Dacia Mumford – WL School Board (home) (Dacia Mumford (candidate website))
  32. Issues (Maria Koliantz (candidate website))
  33. Endorsements (Maria Koliantz (candidate website))
  34. John Robinson for West Lafayette School Board (John Robinson (candidate website))
  35. My Record of Service (Laurence Wang (candidate website))
  36. About Me (Dacia Mumford (candidate website))
  37. My Views (Dacia Mumford (candidate website))
  38. Mumford accused of violations, WL school board starts censure process (Based in Lafayette (Dave Bangert))
  39. Dacia J. Mumford candidate profile (BallotReady)
  40. John Alden Robinson candidate profile (BallotReady)
  41. Community Updates (Laurence Wang (candidate website))
  42. Meet Laurence (Laurence Wang (candidate website))
  43. Laurence Wang candidate profile (BallotReady)
  44. My Priorities (Laurence Wang (candidate website))
  45. Laurence Wang For West Lafayette School Board (home) (Laurence Wang (candidate website))
  46. About Maria (Maria Koliantz (candidate website))
  47. Maria D. Koliantz candidate profile (BallotReady)
  48. Vote Maria Koliantz for West Lafayette School Board (Maria Koliantz (candidate website))
What's included
the U.S. House, statewide offices, every Indiana House and Senate district on the ballot, Indiana's statewide public questions and judicial retention questions, and county, township, city, town and school board races from the Indiana Election Division's candidate list.
Everything else
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: IndianaVoters.in.gov.
Candidate lists
As of Sunday, October 18, 2026.
At the polls
Indiana law lets you bring a list of candidates and public questions into the polling place, including one stored on your phone, as long as you don't electioneer. IC 3-11-8-18.5

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.