Candidate Questionnaire 2: Equal Accountability

In July, The Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education (NEIFPE) contacted all 21 of the candidates running for federal and state offices in NE Indiana to ask them for their views pertaining to education issues. Each was sent a survey of 10 questions. So far 6 have returned the surveys. If and when others respond, those will also be posted. The comments below are unedited and are the words and thoughts of the candidates. NEIFPE shares this information so voters will be able to make informed choices at the polls on November 4.

(NOTE: A copy of the original (blank) questionnaire may be found HERE.)

Question: Do you agree charter and voucher-accepting schools should be held to the same standards as traditional public schools?

(Note: Candidates are listed by district, and by alphabetical order within districts)

Candidates for State Representative

Charles Odier, D-52: "Yes, they came up with a A-F grade system and then wanted to exempt charter schools from it. They also wanted to exempt charters from the ISTEP tests, because they knew they would fail."

Phil GiaQuinta, D-80: "Yes."

Thad Gerardot, D-81: "Yes."

Mike Wilber, D-82: "If the funding can not be stopped, they should be held accountable to the same standards as public schools."

Fred Haigh, D-84: "Yes! In reality, I believe they should be held to a higher standard. For example, I believe that all institutions receiving any public tax revenues should be required to publish (for public knowledge) their educational philosophy, their support for state educational standards, and an itemized use of all public funds."

Candidates for State Senate

Jack Morris, D-15: "Yes."

Candidates for U. S. Representative

Justin Kuhnle, D-3: "Charter and voucher-accepting schools should be held to the same standards of traditional public schools. There does need to be accountability to how the tax money is used."

###

The following candidates did not provide a response the the questions. (Answers from candidate questionnaires will be added to this page as they are returned.)

Candidates for State Representative
Dan Leonard, R-50
Dennis Zent, R-51
Benjamin Smaltz, R-52
Matt Lehman, R-79
Martin Carbaugh, R-81
David Ober, R-82
Christopher Judy, R-83
Bob Morris, R-84
Casey Cox, R-85

Candidates for State Senate
Dennis Kruse, R-14
Liz Brown, R-15
Jim Banks, R-17
Travis Holdman, R-19

Candidates for U.S. Representative
Marlin Stutzman, R-3

Complete Responses

Click the candidate's name below to see their entire questionnaire, including a statement of their vision for the future of education in Indiana. NOTE: Only those candidates who returned a questionnaire are listed.

INDIANA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

• Charles Odier, candidate for Indiana House District 52
• Phil GiaQuinta, candidate for Indiana House District 80
• Thad Gerardot, candidate for Indiana House District 81
• Mike Wilber, candidate for Indiana House District 82
• Fred Haigh, candidate for Indiana House District 84

INDIANA SENATE

• Jack Morris, candidate for Indiana Senate District 15

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

• Justin Kuhnle, candidate for U.S. Representative Indiana District 3

###