How to Reward Teachers

by Phyllis Bush

The topic of performance payouts has gotten a great deal of reaction in the past few days. While I would imagine that those who came up with the plan for rewarding teachers were well-intended, I have a lot of issues with merit or performance pay for teachers.

While I was still in the classroom, I thought of myself as a career teacher and as a professional—not as a trained monkey who would perform for a reward. The whole concept of rewards strikes me in much the same way as when students used to ask me if they could get extra credit for this or that. My stock answer was usually something like this: your reward should be the intrinsic value of learning and from the value of spending 55 minutes per day with me.

Most good teachers do not do the things that they do that are above and beyond their contract so that they can be rewarded. They do it because it is the right thing to do. That is not how most teachers are wired. When I paid for things out of my own pocket for my students or for my own classroom, I did it because it needed to be done...not because I was looking for a reward or a Bozo button.

If legislators or schools districts really want to reward teachers, perhaps the best way would be to afford them respect as professionals by providing positive working conditions, by making sure that class sizes are small, by providing salaries that are commensurate with their education and experience level, by providing adequate social services to help children, by funding districts equitably, and by listening to educators' concerns about developmentally and instructionally appropriate methods of teaching.

Merit pay and performance payouts pit teachers against one another. Whether the intent was to reward teachers in specific zip codes, I cannot say, but whatever the case, the result is yet another slap in the face to those who work in the "wrong" district.

[EDITOR: This article was published as a letter in the December 29 edition of the Fort Wayne, News Sentinel]

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From the Network for Public Education – The NPE Toolkit: Stop Betsy DeVos

The more we learn, the more we are certain that Betsy DeVos is bad for public schools and for kids.

When De Vos has to choose between quality schools and “the free market,” she chooses “the free market” of privatized choice every time. The best interests of children take a back seat.

And we know the DeVos endgame–shut down our neighborhood public schools, and replace them with a patchwork of charters, private schools and online learning.

We can’t let that happen and we need your help. Present and future generations of children are depending on us to act now. We now know that some Senators have grave doubts. It is our job to make those doubts grow into active resistance to DeVos. Our senators are in district offices from 12/17 – 1/2.

Here are our three toolkits to help you do your part.

Toolkit 1. Call your senators’ offices. The toolkit with numbers and a phone script can be found here. It includes a link to phone numbers.

Toolkit 2. Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. You can find a model here.

Toolkit 3. Visit your senators’ offices. If you cannot get an appointment, hand deliver a letter. Our toolkit, which you can find here has a model to use, and directions to find local offices. If you cannot hand deliver it, send your letter in the mail.

When you go into the toolkits and commit to an action, we have a simple form that let’s us know what you did. As a thank you, you will receive a special badge for your Facebook page or Twitter account each time you complete an action, and you will be entered into our drawing for a copy of Reign of Error signed by Diane Ravitch.

The drawing will be held on January 5th, so please begin your actions today. Share this link on your Facebook page and Twitter account, or email it to a friend.

We thank you for all that you do. Sadly, our nation’s children need you to do more.

For more go to: The NPE Toolkit: Stop Betsy DeVos

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Vic’s Statehouse Notes #267 – November 23, 2016

Dear Friends,

Death by a thousand cuts.

That is the likely future for public education unless public education advocates are willing to rally to defend it vigorously against two proposals in the weeks and months ahead.

The November 8th general election has left public education under severe threat from those who would diminish and dismantle it at both the state and federal level. The defense should begin now by talking with members of the General Assembly and with members of Congress.

At the state level, the expensive proposal called Education Savings Accounts which would give state funding for the first time to unregulated home schools and would give a financial incentive for parents to leave the public schools will go forward, most likely as a part of the budget and touted incorrectly as a way to save money. It was sponsored in the 2016 short session by Ways and Means Chair Dr. Tim Brown in the House and by Senator Jeff Raatz in the Senate.

At the federal level, Donald Trump’s proposal to shift $20 billion from current federal education funding, presumably from Title 1 reading programs for low income students, to pay for private school tuition will go forward. He detailed his proposal in a speech in Cleveland on September 8th. His choice today of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, well known as a critic of public education and as a wealthy promoter of private school vouchers, is aligned with his stated plan to give public money for private school tuition in all 50 states.

The concept of public education is now in direct jeopardy both in Indiana and at the federal level.

In Indiana’s bicentennial year, the privatizers won the election.

Will Public Education Survive in Indiana?

The irony that these attacks on public education in Indiana are continuing during Indiana’s bicentennial year is astounding. It is as if we are celebrating our past with no awareness of how much of our success as a state can be attributed to our hard won battles to bring a strong public education to all.

Progress in Indiana can be directly linked to public education efforts written into our first Constitution in 1816 and strengthened in our second 1851 Constitution after public education advocates led by Caleb Mills gained influence in the 1840’s. Caleb Mills was the founder of Wabash College in Crawfordsville which ironically is now represented in the House by Representative Brown, the sponsor of the program to dismantle public education called Education Savings Accounts. Caleb Mills believed that public education serving all children and paid for by taxpayers should be both non-sectarian, so as not to offend the taxpayers who would balk at funding schools that are teaching a faith they could not support, and non-partisan, so as not to offend the taxpayers who would balk at funding schools that are teaching political views they could not support. This fundamental tenet of Caleb Mills held sway until 2011, when the voucher bill gave state funds for students to attend sectarian religious schools which can teach partisan points of view on public issues in line with their religion.

Now Dr. Brown’s plan to establish Education Savings Accounts would have taxpayers pay for totally unregulated home schools or any unregulated private school. The requirements of the voucher program to take state tests and comply with state letter grade requirements would be not be applied to home schools, but they would still get state money with no obligations or accountability.

To pass this extreme proposal would be to say that even though teachers can’t be trusted to teach without having the state require student test scores and extensive criminal background checks to monitor them, home school parents can be trusted with no accountability checkups. It’s a recipe to further demean teachers in Indiana and worsen the teacher shortage.

Education Savings Accounts

The Education Savings Account proposal being pushed by Chairman Brown is a radical proposal. It would:

• give approximately $6000 on a debit card to any parent who signs a state agreement. This money would go directly to parents and would no longer go to school districts.

• narrow and weaken the curriculum and remove students from Indiana’s new standards. Parents getting the money only have to agree to provide an education in “reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science.” No music! No art! No physical education! No foreign language! No health! No vocational subjects! Who would think this bill would provide a good education? Yet the current broken high stakes testing program in Indiana’s schools would give incentives to parents to take the money and get their kids away from oppressive tests. Perhaps setting up an overbearing testing program was part of a plan all along to unravel the entire public school system.

• end accountability for many students. Parents could take their child out of any school and pay “a participating entity”, which may be an individual, a tutoring agency, a distance learning program, or a licensed occupational therapist approved by the Indiana Treasurer. No requirement to take the state test is included unless students are enrolled in a voucher school.

• expand vouchers to more students. The ESA bill would give public money to families earning up to $97,000 for a family of four. Families earning $97,000 would get a 70% voucher, far more than the 50% voucher now given to families earning $65,000 or less. Family income limits would disappear completely for special education students, giving even high income families taxpayer money for private schools. Currently for special education students, eligibility for taxpayer vouchers is capped at incomes of $85,000 for a family of four. Indiana’s voucher program was passed in 2011 as a program for low income families, but that rationale has now disappeared.

• pay textbook fees for private schools while public school parents get no help with textbooks. The ESA bill makes textbooks for private programs a taxpayer expense.

• allow parents to divert money intended for K-12 education to their 529 college fund. Parents who can afford to pay for their current private school have an incentive to enroll in the program, take the money intended for K-12 education and put it in a 529 college account instead.

• give money to parents directly without strong fraud protection. The ESA bill has a weak section of fraud consequences for a “participating entity”, but no mention is made of parents who neglect their duties or commit fraud with their child’s money.

• omit criminal background checks for parents taking K-12 money. Background checks are being expanded for public school teachers but this bill would give public money to parents without comparable background checks. Can all parents be trusted without background checks?

The Education Savings Account proposal brings to life Milton Friedman’s plan to end public education and give tax money directly to parents to educate their children. The scheme has gaping holes which must be brought to the attention of Indiana legislators as soon as possible.

One of the holes is the extra fiscal cost to the state when home school students who do not currently get any state payments are included in the state budget. If the estimate of 20,000 home school students is accurate and parents get on average $5000 on a debit card for each student, the program would cost Indiana taxpayers $100 million dollars per year, far more than current costs for pre-school ($10 million), summer school ($18 million) or even for state testing ($45 million). While those who take the incentive to leave the public schools would reduce the $100 million price tag by some amount based on the difference between the current amount per student given to the school district and the somewhat smaller amount given to parents on the debit card, the huge new cost of paying for home school students is clear.

Fortunately, State Superintendent-Elect Jennifer McCormick told the ICPE members meeting in Indianapolis on August 27th that she opposes the Education Savings Account proposal because it would take money from public schools. Based on this, she should be an ally in your efforts to defeat this proposal, even though the main sponsor of this proposal is the Institute for Quality Education which was Jennifer McCormick’s main financial backer in the election. We will soon see where she stands.

Will Public Education Survive in the United States?

Donald Trump’s plan to mandate private school vouchers to students in all 50 states would be the biggest federal intrusion into state education policy in US history. In a September 8th speech in Cleveland, Donald Trump said he would use the power of the Presidency to have all 50 states use public tax money to pay for private and religious school tuition. He said it would cost $20 billion in federal dollars and $110 billion in state dollars.

At this point, 20 states have completely resisted entwining church and state and completely avoided using public dollars for private and religious schools. They have very good reasons to resist. Of the other 30 states, some have very limited programs for special education students.

Under Article 10 of the US Constitution, education matters should be left to the states. Now Donald Trump wants to ignore Article 10 and push a federal mandate for private school vouchers in the name of school choice.

Does America want Donald Trump to dismantle public education in the United States?

I think not.

Donald Trump’s voucher program was nearly ignored during the campaign and certainly the voters did not give him a mandate to end public education based on one overlooked speech.

From its roots in the 1830’s, public education has brought the United States to a position of world power with its system of non-sectarian, non-partisan, publicly funded schools supervised by school boards elected following the rules of democracy and pledged to transparent public access and accountability in their records.

Now Donald Trump wants to spend billions in federal dollars to pay for tuition at sectarian and potentially partisan schools that are not run by elected officials and do not have to offer public access to records. In Betsy DeVos, he has chosen a well known advocate for private school vouchers to lead his side of this coming fight. The battle lines are drawn.

Tell members of Congress that you oppose Donald Trump’s plan and that you strongly oppose public money from any source paying for private and religious school vouchers.

What Can Public Education Advocates Do?

Many areas have meetings with members of the General Assembly and with members of Congress about upcoming legislative sessions. Start talking with elected leaders now about your opposition to Education Savings Accounts and to the federal intrusion of mandated vouchers.

This is a radical set of proposals. Let legislators know how they would damage the heart of our communities—our public schools.

Then join the Indiana Coalition for Public Education to support ICPE lobbyist Joel Hand as he works in support of public education in the Indiana General Assembly and against all proposals that would damage public education such as Education Savings Accounts. ICPE needs your support!

Thank you for your dedicated support of public education!


Best wishes,

Vic Smith


“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!


ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership.

Our lobbyist Joel Hand will represent ICPE in the new budget session which begins January 4, 2017. We need your memberships and your support to continue his work. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!


Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

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No Group is Ever Made Stronger by Division

The following guest post is from NEIFPE member Stu Bloom's blog.

No Group is Ever Made Stronger by Division

America's teachers showed up to school on Wednesday morning just like they do every school day. They did their best to help their students make sense of the events of the previous evening.

In many classrooms teachers had to ease the worry of children who feared the backlash against tolerance, acceptance and understanding, and for misogyny, bigotry, and xenophobia. They used the election, as teachers have used elections for decades, as a teaching moment...to explain how our nation's version of democracy works...to focus on the obligations of citizenship...and to highlight the diversity that strengthens, and divides, the nation.

Like many others, history teacher Jim Cullen approached his Wednesday classes thinking about his response.

...necessity requires me to put aside my own unease and confusion as I try to help adolescents process an event that is necessarily unprecedented for them...

My role is to help them feel better as a matter of trying to alleviate despair, anxiety or indignation, but also to feel better in the sense of thinking more clearly, to bring their hearts and their heads into greater alignment...

Bringing hearts and heads into alignment is an often unconscious goal for many teachers. Below is an exchange between a retired teacher friend of mine and a former student (now adult) about the election. In her response, the teacher uses yet another former student's letter about the election. Both students express in their own way, how they have, as they have grown, aligned their hearts and heads. Both students have learned what every teacher hopes to instill in their students: Life is a series of learning experiences.

[Note: I have edited all three letters for brevity and clarity, and to remove identifying information.]

STUDENT ONE

...I have thought a lot about you this election season. Believe it or not, the unit we did on the election between Dukakis and Bush nearly 30 years ago taught me much and I wanted to thank you so very, very much. If not for you, I may have continued basing political views on just abortion. I'll never forget the day that you turned to me and said, "He's not FOR abortion. No one is FOR abortion!" I finally thought to myself, "she's right! Baby murderers wouldn't be wandering around the countryside. What the heck is this really about?" My parents had gone through such a bad spot when my sister had died 2 years before, abortion and euthanasia was all they ever discussed as far as politics during that time in my life. Thanks to you, my eyes were opened. Trade deals, global warming, social security, etc. – I had no idea those things even existed. I have made it my goal in life to learn as much as possible about issues and never accept the easy and emotional answers.

My family eventually healed and after we moved north...I started meeting friends from all over the world and expanding my views...

Today was painful for me, like many Americans. One of my best friends is Syrian and her family is stuck back there. She is terrified that even though she is an ICU doctor at a major university, she is going to be deported. Today I comforted a mother who was terrified that if Obamacare is repealed, her 4-year old son with leukemia will never qualify for insurance again. One of my students asked for permission to leave early so that she could go marry her girlfriend because she is afraid she will lose that right. I'm lucky - I'm an upper, middle class white woman with a doctorate. [The results of this election] will not have much impact to my life. But thanks to the seed that you planted nearly 30 years ago, I can see how devastating this was for others...thanks for teaching me a big part of what has made me who I am!

TEACHER

...Thank you so much for writing.

I tried to keep my own political views to myself when I was teaching, especially the election units. It seemed important to present things and let you students do your own thinking. But it pleases me no end to see that you took what we did and became a person with not just a strong mind but also with a big and good and loving heart.

I am trying not to panic or to prophesy. I have lived through many disappointing elections and this feeling, while deeper this time, is familiar. People talk trash during a campaign and while it sets a tone, their promises aren't easy to keep. I do believe in the power of our Constitution and its checks and balances. I do believe that there are plenty of good people in Congress who will not just sit there and let everything fall apart. He (can't say his name yet) passed the first test with his victory speech. That wasn't at all like the ugly campaign talk. It was rather...Presidential.

My heart goes out to the people you talk about in your last paragraph...the Syrian doctor, parents of sick kids and also kids with disabilities, gay people. I am hoping and praying that these fears stay only that – fears but nothing more.

[Another former student] wrote something yesterday that helped me. Here is what she said...

STUDENT TWO

I have mulled over my thoughts and feelings all day, and while I feel political posts are kind of just white noise at this point, I feel I must say my piece (perhaps if only for a little bit of peace for myself.) No group is ever made stronger by division and there are lessons to be learned in every situation. Yes, I voted for Hillary, this is no big surprise, but I am coming to terms with the Presidential race outcome and starting to open my heart and mind to what can be learned. I think that what we can learn is that we have a long way to go as a country. I think if HRC had won, it would have eased our "liberal minds" to think that change is upon us, but now, the tolerance of intolerance that America feels has light shed fully upon it.

When I think about those who voted for Trump, I have been digging deep to understand how so many people that I know and love, work alongside, and get along with, could look the other way at such a blatant display of negativity towards women, both in action and words, minorities, poor people, the LGBT community, immigrants, and on and on... and it is hard not to take it personally. You have to get to the core of WHY a compassionate, caring person could look the other way and choose someone like Trump as a representative for them, for their country. And the core issue that I have heard time and again is something I can whole-heartedly agree with – change in the political arena...desperate times call for desperate measures. Those that chose to vote for Trump are just so disenchanted with the way politics are run in this country, they were willing to overlook the other issues with him as a candidate.

And I get it, in a big way, I get it...I understand the desire for some change, some big change. And I am going to try to keep an open mind, as HRC and President Obama have encouraged. I am looking for silver linings and I am going to revel in the opportunity to talk about changing what we are tolerant of, to think about what ugliness has surfaced and to have respectful discussions with people about this topic. I am not naive enough to think that there weren't some people who did in fact vote for Trump BECAUSE of his racism and misogyny. And it's time we deal with this elephant in the room, bring it to the surface, because that is the only way we will ever weed it out for good.

...So, while the outcome was not what I wanted, perhaps it was actually what we needed as a country to grow and learn. Don't threaten to move away from the country if the outcome isn't what you wanted...threaten to stay and make a change. For now, I will try to continue to spread love, and compassion, and a thirst to understand my fellow man without judgment. I think we are all a lot closer the middle ground than we think we are and it is time we stop letting the media divide us with fear and finger pointing, and portray all politics as "us vs. them". It is time that we engage in more civil discourse to try to compromise and learn. I love people for their differences as well as their similarities. Life would be boring if we all held the same beliefs, so I want to embrace differences while working towards kindness. Always working towards more kindness...

TEACHER

With former students like you two, didn't I have the best job in the world? You are such a dear. We can do this. Thank you.

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Vic’s Election Notes on Education #44– November 6, 2016

Dear Friends,

[Note: There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization.]

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This election is so close in Indiana that public education advocates could swing the election.

For the sake of the future of public education in Indiana, making a final effort to get friends and family to support the strongest public education candidates such as John Gregg, Glenda Ritz, Evan Bayh and pro-public education legislative candidates such as Coach Phil Webster (Senate District 35) is extremely important.

The full list of letter grades on public education for incumbent legislators was included in the previous #43 edition of “Vic’s Election Notes on Education.” The ICPE letter grades can also be seen at www.icpe2011.com.

I urge you to make a few more calls or email contacts in these final hours. A few votes could make all the difference!

[Please note: Indiana Code 3-14-1-17 says that government employees including public school employees may not “use the property of the employee’s government employer to” support the “election or defeat of a candidate” and may not distribute this message “on the government employer’s real property during regular working hours.” Ironically, the law does not prevent private school employees from using computers purchased with public voucher money to distribute campaign materials. Private schools now financed in part by public voucher dollars have retained all rights under Indiana’s voucher laws to engage in partisan political campaigns.]

John Gregg

I have detailed John Gregg’s support of public education in editions #27, #34, #38 and #42 of “Vic’s Election Notes on Education.” John Gregg said on September 26th at the ISBA Conference at the Indianapolis Convention Center: “When my running mate and I win, that is the moment the war against public education ends.” (Indianapolis Star, 9-27-16, p.6A)

These are game-changing words. John Gregg deserves your active support!

Glenda Ritz

I have detailed Glenda Ritz’s support of public education in editions #35, #36, #37, #41 and #42 of “Vic’s Election Notes on Education.” Glenda Ritz has always been a strong supporter of public education and has refused to accept contributions from the biggest pro-voucher group called Hoosiers for Quality Education.

Follow the money. Jennifer McCormick, running against Glenda Ritz, received $30,000 from HQE last summer and another $60,000 in October, as reported in Secretary of State records, enabling her to fund last minute television ads. There is no question that Hoosiers for Quality Education, the prime advocate for supporting home schools with tax money via a proposal called Education Savings Accounts, would have strong influence if Jennifer McCormick is elected.

Evan Bayh

I have not previously written about the Bayh-Young Senate race. I seldom write about federal elections because the focus of Indiana public education policies is in the Statehouse, a fact which Evan Bayh has helped to maintain by his contributions to federal policy, a story explained below.

I was moved to reflect on the pro-public education record of Evan Bayh after seeing a startling fact in the headlines of the Indianapolis Star last week. Groups outside of Indiana have spent $14 million for pro-Evan Bayh ads and $24 million for pro-Todd Young ads. That’s $38 million in outside money for ads, and not one addressed positions on public education!

So here, at no charge, is your update on the historic Bayh-Young contest in relation to public education.

Todd Young strongly supports private school vouchers. His voting record is clear. That is all that needs to be said.

Evan Bayh has a long history of supporting public education going back to his years as Governor. Private school vouchers were first proposed in the 1995 General Assembly when the House turned Republican, but the proposal did not pass while Bayh was Governor.

Then Senator Bayh had a key role in late December 2000 when President-Elect Bush “invited about twenty members of Congress to meet with him” on the education issue in Austin. (Andrew Rudalevige, 2002). Evan Bayh played a key role in getting George W. Bush to agree to exclude private school vouchers from the education plan that was taking shape which later became No Child Left Behind. This crucial contribution should be recognized and valued as the Donald Trump plan to divert $20 billion in Title 1 money from student reading programs to pay for private school tuition is under debate. We need Evan Bayh in the U.S. Senate to fight any such plan!

On November 5th, the Indianapolis Star ran a front page story about a staff member of Americans for Prosperity going door to door in Carmel to talk voters out of voting for Evan Bayh. Public school advocates should know that Americans for Prosperity is a wealthy group funded by the Koch brothers that opposes public education and strongly promotes private school vouchers. When pro-voucher groups held rallies in the Statehouse in recent years with hundreds of private school students bussed in on a school day, Americans for Prosperity was the financial sponsor and paid for the T-shirts. When Republican Senator Waterman in Senate District 39 voted to support public education and against the 2011 and 2013 voucher bills, Americans for Prosperity generously funded a candidate in the Republican primary who defeated Senator Waterman 51% to 49%.

Americans for Prosperity, with their vast financial resources, is out there working against Evan Bayh in large part because he supports public education. For the sake of public education, I hope you will support Evan Bayh and then speak up for Evan Bayh among your family and friends in these final hours before the November 8th election. Every vote to help public education makes a difference in a tight election!

I urge you to keep working Monday and Tuesday to protect public education at the ballot box!

Thanks for your strong support for public education throughout this election campaign!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization. Please contact me at vic790@aol.com to add an email address or to remove an address from the distribution list.

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

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Vic’s Election Notes on Education #43– November 4, 2016

Dear Friends,

[Note: There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization.]

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Rachel Burke, a veteran advocate for public education in Indiana, is running for the Indiana House of Representatives in District 89 , which includes portions of Warren Township in Marion County and the city of Beech Grove.

Rachel has served as legislative chair for the Indiana PTA (Parent Teachers Association) for many years and has a long record of speaking up for public education in the Statehouse. In 2012, she was elected to the Warren Township School Board. She and her husband have three children in the Warren Township Schools. She is a truly a strong advocate for public education.

Rachel Burke deserves the support of every public school advocate in Indiana. If you can help her in any way or if you know someone who votes in District 89, please take action to help her win on Nov. 8th.

[Please note: Indiana Code 3-14-1-17 says that government employees including public school employees may not “use the property of the employee’s government employer to” support the “election or defeat of a candidate” and may not distribute this message “on the government employer’s real property during regular working hours.” Ironically, the law does not prevent private school employees from using computers purchased with public voucher money to distribute campaign materials. Private schools now financed in part by public voucher dollars have retained all rights under Indiana’s voucher laws to engage in partisan political campaigns.]

Rachel Burke’s Opponent is No Friend of Public Education

The incumbent in House District 89 is Representative Cindy Kirchhofer.

In the ICPE 2016 Legislator Report Card showing the letter grades legislators earned for support of public education, Representative Kirchhofer received a D.

That happened because she voted against public education on four or the five bills picked by ICPE as indicators of support for public education.

You can see the full ICPE Report Card HERE.

This is the time to use the ICPE Report Card on public education. Please share it with friends and colleagues before the election on Tuesday. Public education advocates need to hold members of the Senate and the House accountable for their votes on public education in order to restore a high priority to public education in the General Assembly where it has been under attack for years.

Rachel Burke’s Opponent Cindy Kirchhofer Has Not Supported Public Education in Past Years

The letter grade of D given to Representative Kirchhofer in the ICPE Legislator Report Card is based on five bills passed by the most recent General Assembly in 2015-16.

Representative Kirchhofer’s lack of support for public education started long before 2015. She has represented District 89 for six years, since defeating incumbent Representative John Barnes by only 600 votes in the election of 2010.

In 2011, she voted to pass the history-changing voucher bill, which I vehemently opposed.

In 2013, as the huge expansion to the voucher program was being debated in Governor Pence’s first months in office, I happened to fall into a buffet lunch line next to Representative Kirchhofer at the annual legislative luncheon of the Indiana Urban Schools Association. I had never really spoken with her before that day. The lunch line was long, which gave us time for an excellent conversation about many education issues. For me, it was a chance to share all of my concerns about the expensive expansion of the voucher program being pushed by Governor Pence and how it would damage our public schools. She was respectful of my thoughts but non-committal while we waited to get to the food.

In turned out that my opposition to the 2013 voucher expansion did not persuade her. There were 13 House Republicans who we persuaded to oppose the voucher expansion, but Representative Kirchhofer voted for the bill which has now led to an annual extra cost of $53 million according to state financial reports.

In six years, she never cast a vote in support of public education on a key bill until late in the 2016 session, a point at which she knew that public school advocate Rachel Burke would be her opponent in the fall election. Whether that fact influenced her to vote against House Bill 1005 and earn a D instead of an F is left to your own speculation.

Support Rachel Burke for House District 89 and Others Who Support Public Education

The case that all public school advocates should support Rachel Burke is clear.

Voters in all or part of the Warren Township Schools and the Beech Grove Schools are in District 89. If you know voters in either of these school districts let them know of your support for Rachel Burke. Send her a donation if you can.

We need more strong advocates for public education like Rachel Burke in the Indiana House of Representatives and we need to keep strong advocates who received high grades in the ICPE Report Card on public education bills.

Please study the letter grades below and support deserving incumbents who have high grades due to their support for public education. Then share the ICPE Report Card with friends and colleagues who support public education before the crucial election on November 8th.

In our democracy, voters are in control. Voters will decide in our bicentennial year whether more friends of public education will be elected and whether public education in Indiana will be supported or will be attacked and dismantled.

I urge you to get involved this weekend in the battle to protect public education at the ballot box!

Thanks for your strong support for public education throughout this election campaign!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization. Please contact me at vic790@aol.com to add an email address or to remove an address from the distribution list.

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

~~~

You can read the full ICPE Report Card HERE.

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Election letters

The following letters from NEIFPE members Donna Roof and Susan Berry are in support of Zubair Khan, candidate for school board in Northwest Allen County Schools.

Khan fights for kids
November 03, 2016

A vote for Dr. Zubair Khan, running for Northwest Allen County School Board, is a vote for public schools.

He is tenacious in his community outreach and involvement in the area.

As a resident in the district, he knows the quality education NACS schools provide his children.

He and his wife, owners of Kiddie Academy of Fort Wayne, realize the importance of early childhood education.

School funding, overtesting of students and teacher salaries are major concerns for him.

From his business acumen, he knows that school finance is critical in having successful schools.

I highly recommend Zubair Khan receive your vote.

Donna Roof

Fort Wayne


Khan did homework
October 28, 2016

I am a member of Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education and attend (as well as help sponsor) many educational and legislative events in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. Zubair Khan is always there! He attended the superintendent of public instruction debate, the showing of the Education Inc. movie and the Network of Public Education conference in North Carolina. Khan is learning about issues in education, is the father of three young children and cares about all kids. He deserves your vote in Northwest Allen County Schools.

Susan Berry

Fort Wayne

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Vic’s Election Notes on Education #42– November 1, 2016

Dear Friends,

[Note: There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization.]

---

Will the voters of Indiana remember?

Over 1.3 million voters cast ballots for Glenda Ritz in 2012, more than the total cast for Mike Pence in the 2012 Governor’s race.

Over 1.3 million voters thought they had corrected the direction of education of Indiana by voting for Glenda Ritz over Tony Bennett. They thought the State Superintendent of Public Instruction could lead education policy.

The correction away from Tony Bennett’s policies didn’t happen. Governor Mike Pence blocked her efforts to carry out the education policies she had run on including fewer high stakes tests. He showed all Hoosier voters that the real person needed to change the direction of education in Indiana is a new governor.

Mike Pence moved quickly to marginalize the power of the State Superintendent in ways that had never been done before:

• He set up his own education agency in competition with the Indiana Department of Education, a move which became so controversial he had to back away from it.

• He appointed members of the State Board of Education determined to question every policy proposal brought by Superintendent Ritz and to challenge her leadership.

• He gave the State Board of Education members their own independent staff and attorneys to monitor Ritz’s every action, a situation never envisioned or even hinted at when Governor Orr reorganized the State Board of Education into the current structure in 1984.

• He actively supported Senate Bill 1 in the 2015 General Assembly to have Glenda Ritz removed as chair of the State Board while she was still in her first elected term.

Were the 1.3 million voters outraged as I was by this political blockade on the part of Governor Pence?

Governor Pence acted as if the election of Glenda Ritz meant nothing about changing Tony Bennett’s policies. The voters need to deliver the message again on November 8th.

Will voters in Indiana remember all these efforts to undermine the elected State Superintendent and will they be outraged enough to put her back in office, this time with a Governor friendly to her policies, John Gregg?

That would be the best plan to move Indiana forward to solve problems of high stakes testing, teacher shortages and privatization that form the legacy of the Tony Bennett era.

Voters have only one shot every four years to influence policies of the Governor and the State Superintendent. In between elections, voters couldn’t stop the efforts of Governor Pence to undermine the powers of the elected State Superintendent, but they can have their say now on November 8th.

I hope you will join me in supporting a team that agrees on education policy: Glenda Ritz for State Superintendent and John Gregg for Governor.

[Please note: Indiana Code 3-14-1-17 says that government employees including public school employees may not “use the property of the employee’s government employer to” support the “election or defeat of a candidate” and may not distribute this message “on the government employer’s real property during regular working hours.” Ironically, the law does not prevent private school employees from using computers purchased with public voucher money to distribute campaign materials. Private schools now financed in part by public voucher dollars have retained all rights under Indiana’s voucher laws to engage in partisan political campaigns.]

A Positive Re-election Campaign While Voters Remember Senate Bill 1

Glenda Ritz should be commended in the current re-election campaign for running on her positive record and for not reminding the voters about the blatant political attempts to undermine her tenure in office. She has maintained her focus on student learning and school improvement and has helped 193 schools get off the list of low-performing schools. She is fighting to make optional Pre-K available to all families who want it. In her campaign commercials to date, she has not reminded voters of how Governor Pence undermined the authority of the State Superintendent and the Indiana Department of Education.

Nevertheless, the voters should remember the Governor’s political attacks. Senate Bill 1, passed by the General Assembly in April 2015, was a direct affront to the power of voters. Since 1908, the State Superintendent had served as chair of the State Board of Education. Senate Bill 1 removed that power from the State Superintendent and gave the power to name the chair to the appointees of the Governor on the State Board. Diminishing the powers of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction was an obvious symbol of diminishing Indiana’s priority on public education.

Senate Bill 1 as proposed removed the State Superintendent as chair of the State Board immediately, even before the end of her first elected term of office. At the last minute, apparently thinking that voters would be outraged by this level of partisanship, the General Assembly supermajority backed off and left Glenda Ritz as chair of the State Board until after the 2016 election. Going forward, members of the State Board which are mostly appointed by the Governor will elect the chair.

Therefore in the November 8th election, voters have less power. Voters can no longer directly select the chair of the State Board of Education but only indirectly through a vote for the Governor.

Was Senate Bill 1 really the way democracy is supported to work? The voters in 2012 had a chance to ratify the policies of State Superintendent Tony Bennett, but they didn’t. They chose instead to elect State Superintendent Ritz, decisively. The 1.3 million voters were extremely clear.

According to Senate Bill 1, however, the voters were wrong. The voters do not, according to Senate Bill 1, have the power to pick the chair of the State Board of Education. The Governor and his activist board members did not like the priorities and policies of the new State Superintendent. They systematically worked for two years to diminish her power in order to win the philosophical battles on education policies including debates on teacher training, teacher evaluations, student testing, administrator training, and school letter grades.

In my observation, this effort began in July 2013 in the first meeting of the newly appointed board when Superintendent Ritz was presenting her vision for improving reading. She is after all a literacy specialist and she did after all win the election, but her presentation was interrupted and cut off by one board member and tabled before she could even finish the presentation. Two years later, the Governor’s efforts to take complete control of education policy culminated in a legislative priority in the 2015 General Assembly to permanently reduce the powers of the State Superintendent.

Senate Bill 1 was a partisan bill that raised the powers of appointed State Board members above the powers of the voters. It clearly diminished our democracy.

We pride ourselves on being a democracy with powers of government derived from the voters. Clearly Senate Bill 1 took power from the voters. It was wrong to do that. The voters need to send the message again, this time by voting for both Glenda Ritz and a Governor that will support her policies, John Gregg.

Senate Bill 1 took power from the voters, an affront which should be remembered on November 8th.

The best response to Senate Bill 1 is for the voters to elect John Gregg. He will appoint State Board members who support the policies of Glenda Ritz.

On September 26, 2016 speaking at the ISBA conference at the Indianapolis Convention Center, John Gregg said, “When my running mate and I win, that is the moment the war against public education ends.” (Indianapolis Star, 9-27-16, p.6A)

May it be so. I hope you will vote for Glenda Ritz for State Superintendent and John Gregg for Governor on November 8th.

Thanks for your strong advocacy for public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization. Please contact me at vic790@aol.com to add an email address or to remove an address from the distribution list.

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

###

Letters: Ritz the only choice for Indiana’s children

NEIFPE member Meg Bloom sent this letter to the editor to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette supporting Glenda Ritz for reelection as the Indiana State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Ritz the only choice for Indiana’s children

Published: October 31, 2016

In late summer I went to Indianapolis to hear both Glenda Ritz and Jennifer McCormick speak at a forum hosted by the Indiana Coalition for Public Education. Both are educators, both have worked within the public school system, and both are concerned with the so-called reforms that have been forced onto our school children. It sounds like this election might be a wash – but look again.

At the forum, McCormick was open about the fact that her campaign was taking money from the same donors who backed former State Superintendent Tony Bennett. This is money coming from foundations that have backed the same reforms that McCormick and Ritz abhor. And yet McCormick doesn’t see this as a problem or a conflict of interest. I couldn’t decide whether she was very naive about how the political system operates or whether she thinks we voters are the naive ones.

Ritz has performed her duties with grace and good humor in the worst of circumstances, and those circumstances have been funded by McCormick’s donors. If you care about our Indiana schools and the children who attend, Ritz is the only candidate.

Meg Bloom

Fort Wayne

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“Backpack Full of Cash,” a Film That Exposes Corporate Reform, Needs YOUR Help

From Diane Ravitch...

“Backpack Full of Cash,” a Film That Exposes Corporate Reform, Needs YOUR Help

Tonight is the second showing of Backful of Cash in Philadelphia.

The producers have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the continued showing of the film in other cities and for post-production work.

Backpack Full of Cash is a highly professional film whose producers’ previous four-part series called “School” was shown on PBS a decade ago. As you can understand, it is much harder to raise money for a film that exposes the corporate reform movement than to raise money for a series called “School.”

Please give whatever you can. The Stone Lantern team has raised 25% of their goal. They need our help.

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Vic’s Election Notes on Education #41– October 26, 2016

Dear Friends,

[Note: There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization.]

---

Glenda Ritz is trying to correct a wrong done to public school parents five years ago as she runs for State Superintendent for Public Instruction.

For five years now, since the passage of the Tony Bennett/Mitch Daniels 2011 voucher law, home school parents and private school parents have been able to claim a $1000 Indiana income tax deduction for textbooks and supplies. Public school parents were not included in this deduction for textbooks.

This is not fair to public school parents.

Public school parents should have an equitable right to deduct textbook costs just the same as home school and private school parents do. Glenda Ritz wants to see that they do, and she has put that goal in her campaign platform.

Jennifer McCormick, Glenda Ritz’s opponent in the race for State Superintendent, is opposed to correcting this inequity. At the August 27th ICPE membership meeting in Indianapolis, she said that she did not support the Ritz proposal saying that it would cost too much. She apparently sees neither the inequity in this policy that Glenda Ritz sees nor the depth of the public-private controversy embedded in this issue.

I stand with Glenda Ritz. Giving a tax break to home school and private school parents but not to public school parents is just wrong.

This policy which has been in effect since 2011 sends a powerful and demeaning message to public school parents. It should be reversed.

I urge you to support Glenda Ritz for State Superintendent on November 8th.

[Please note: Indiana Code 3-14-1-17 says that government employees including public school employees may not “use the property of the employee’s government employer to” support the “election or defeat of a candidate” and may not distribute this message “on the government employer’s real property during regular working hours.” Ironically, the law does not prevent private school employees from using computers purchased with public voucher money to distribute campaign materials. Private schools now financed in part by public voucher dollars have retained all rights under Indiana’s voucher laws to engage in partisan political campaigns.]

Senator Pat Miller’s Amendment to Help Home School and Private School Parents

The tax deduction in question came as a surprise during debate on the historic 2011 voucher bill.

The date was April 19, 2011. In an unexpected move, Senator Pat Miller rose on the floor of the Senate to propose an amendment to the voucher bill giving a $1000 tax deduction for textbooks and supplies to home school and private school parents. These are the words I wrote that day in Vic’s Statehouse Notes #80 (April 19, 2011):

“Unbelievably, an amendment was added to the voucher bill today which would give an income tax deduction to home school parents.

Yes, you read this correctly.

Home school parents, a group that had never even been discussed related to HB 1003 since the bill was introduced in January, would get the first tax break for home school expenses in Indiana history. Sen. Miller, the author of the amendment, said the tax break would have a fiscal cost to the state of $3 million.

This was already an historic bill in breaking the 160 year vision set by the 1851 Constitution that public money should go to public school students and not to religious or private schools. Now, add another “first”: The first state funding for home school parents.”

Listening in the Senate gallery that day, I was amazed and deeply troubled that public officials for the first time were considering giving public tax money to help totally unregulated home and private schools. While such unregulated schools had been free to operate since the beginning of our state, they had never done so with money from public taxpayers.

I had spent decades in my career participating in textbook adoption reviews to answer a vital question: Were our textbooks appropriately accurate and aligned with principles of our democracy, good science, and high standards of literacy and numeracy? Before a textbook could be adopted for use with students, it had to pass muster with committees of parents and teachers as well as the State Board of Education. All that was thrown out with Senator Pat Miller’s amendment. The state would now pay for a tax deduction for whatever textbook the home school parent picked, even textbooks that would not pass the textbook reviews for being unbiased, non-partisan, non-sectarian and accurate. No one would check.

It was a seed planted which could clearly damage our democracy, and it was all paid for by public taxpayers. To make matters worse, public school parents paying for textbooks which were all reviewed and monitored by publicly elected school boards were left out completely.

Voucher Bill Sponsors Needed Senator Miller’s Vote

To make a long story short, the pro-voucher forces needed Senator Miller’s vote on the crucial voucher bill. Her amendment was added to the bill to ensure her yes vote on the final bill, even while the Senate jettisoned the House amendment to have all voucher schools comply with the Americans for Disability Act. After tremendous controversy, the 2011 voucher bill narrowly passed the Indiana Senate by a vote of 28-22.

Now five years later, Glenda Ritz has proposed that equity be restored to public school parents by giving them the same right to the $1000 tax deduction that home school and private school parents have had since the Tony Bennett era and the 2011 vote.

It is a matter of fairness and equity that public school parents should have this deduction even though Jennifer McCormick disagrees.

I stand with Glenda Ritz in this election, and I hope you will too.

Thanks for your strong advocacy for public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization. Please contact me at vic790@aol.com to add an email address or to remove an address from the distribution list.

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

###

A Public Education

The following op-ed by NEIFPE's Co-founder Phyllis Bush appeared in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on October 25.

A public education
We all pay the price of lawmakers' focus on private schools

by Phyllis Bush

One of my favorite lines is that it doesn’t matter until it matters, and by then it’s too late. By looking at the fiscal and personal impact of how education laws affect our children’s education and our own pocketbooks, the key issues of Indiana’s education reform laws should matter to all of us. Here are some of the laws that have had a significant effect:

Vouchers: The fiscal effect of the voucher program has long been a matter of dispute. Indiana spent $53 million on vouchers during the 2015-16 school year. However, if we look at how much the Indiana voucher program has grown since its inception, the total payments the state made to private schools for tuition were $131 million. This diversion of funds has been at the expense of already cash-strapped traditional public schools and has resulted in larger class sizes and has increased the student-teacher ratio in public schools.

Testing: While the debate over the glitch-filled ISTEP+ continues, many parents and students believe ISTEP and the numerous other tests being given are a waste of time, especially when their only discernible purpose is to hold schools or teachers accountable. In addition to what seems to be instructional pointlessness of many of these standardized tests, the annual cost of testing to Indiana taxpayers is astronomical. Even though the exact figures are difficult to corroborate, the cost has been estimated to be between $56.6 million and $130 million. Even so, educators believe many of these tests are instructionally inappropriate, and these tests have created a system that provides a great deal of data but very little information – and it arrives far too late to be instructionally useful.

A to F grading: What exactly does a school letter grade mean? In the eyes of a college admissions committee, is the work of the valedictorian from a C school commensurate with the course work of a valedictorian from an A or B school? If a neighborhood school receives a lower grade, what does that rating mean for property values? What do these grades mean to our communities? While our legislators contend that this rating scale is helping them hold schools accountable, the consequence is that the school letter grades are more of a measure of ZIP codes than of learning.

School funding: Property taxes are only used for specific needs such as transportation and capital projects. While few of us enjoy paying taxes, the consequences of the 2010 tax cap amendment have forced many school districts to reduce or eliminate many bus routes.

Teacher evaluation/merit pay: Merit pay sounds good on the surface; however, a new teacher finds out early on that his/her salary will be dependent on a rather dubious rating scale where he/she will receive a one-time stipend (not a raise) based on test scores and observations. According to this new system, the salary never changes and only a certain number of teachers will be eligible for merit pay, no matter how many “exemplary” teachers are in that district. Without any salary incentives, how will we retain good, young teachers?

I can only speculate about the intent of the people who have created these destructive policies, but the fiscal and personal costs to our children, our schools and our communities are immeasurable.

While politicians crow about the success of their reforms, the ultimate cost to Indiana is landing on the backs of students in the forms of larger class sizes, tests that provide little useful information, school letter grades that reward ZIP codes, by elimination of essential services and by the current teacher shortage.

While some of these bills may not matter directly to you, traditional public schools are the backbone of our democracy. If we want the best for our children and for our communities, we need to let policymakers know that, in Indiana, our schools and our children matter to all of us.

#RememberinNovember and hold these politicians accountable.

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Vic’s Election Notes on Education #40– October 20, 2016

Dear Friends,

[Note: There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization.]

---

Tim Skinner, a true champion for public education in Indiana, is running for the Indiana House of Representatives in District 42, which includes portions of Clay, Fountain, Parke, Vermillion, Vigo and Warren Counties and the cities of Brazil, Covington, Clinton, Rockville and Cayuga.

He served in the Indiana Senate for twelve years where he compiled an outstanding voting record in support of public schools. He lost his reelection bid in 2014 after his district had been gerrymandered following the last census. He is a retired teacher, having served students in the Vigo County Schools for over 30 years. He is currently serving as Board President of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education. He is a true advocate for public education.

Tim Skinner deserves the support of every public school advocate in Indiana. If you can help him in any way or if you know someone who votes in District 42, please take action to help him win on Nov. 8th.

[Please note: Indiana Code 3-14-1-17 says that government employees including public school employees may not “use the property of the employee’s government employer to” support the “election or defeat of a candidate” and may not distribute this message “on the government employer’s real property during regular working hours.” Ironically, the law does not prevent private school employees from using computers purchased with public voucher money to distribute campaign materials. Private schools now financed in part by public voucher dollars have retained all rights under Indiana’s voucher laws to engage in partisan political campaigns.]

Tim Skinner’s Opponent is No Friend of Public Education

The incumbent in House District 42 is Representative Alan Morrison.

In the ICPE 2016 Legislator Report Card showing the letter grades legislators earned on support for public education, Representative Morrison’s grade was an F.

That happened because he voted against public education on all five issues picked by ICPE as indicators of support for public education.

Click HERE to see the full ICPE Report Card.

Tim Skinner’s Opponent Alan Morrison Faces Ethical Questions

In a September 16, 2016 article, Hayleigh Columbo in the Indiana Business Journal.com reported “An Indiana lawmaker who voted two years in a row for legislation that put one private company in control of who could manufacture e-liquid for sale in Indiana has now gone to work for a division of that firm. Rep. Alan Morrison, R-Terre Haute, said he sees no conflict of interest in taking a job with a division of Mulhaupt’s, the Lafayette firm that is at the center of the controversial law regulating the vaping industry. But Morrison acknowledged that---if reelected---he will have to recuse himself from future votes about the vaping issue or on legislation that would affect Mulhaupt’s.”

Columbo also reported that “Legislative leaders have pledged to rethink the vaping law after it became clear it gave Mulhaupt’s a monopoly over the security provisions in the law. The FBI is also probing the law’s passage and implementation to determine if any corruption was involved.”

Columbo then reported on the comments regarding this situation from David Orentlicher, former legislator and professor at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law, who “said Morrison’s new position and how he acquired it is ‘absolutely troubling. . . . You shouldn’t be leveraging your public office to get a new job. … You don’t want the public to have to worry about the integrity of their Legislature. Unfortunately we still have to worry.’”

After reading the IBJ.com article and regardless of what the FBI concludes, it is clear that Representative Morrison is as blind to ethical conflicts of interest as he is to support for public education.

Support Tim Skinner for House District 42

The case for all public school advocates to support Tim Skinner is clear. Indeed, all who want to restore high standards of ethics and integrity to our legislature should support Tim Skinner.

Voters in all or part of the following school districts are in District 42: Clay, Covington, North Vermillion, Rockville, South Vermillion, Southwest Parke, Turkey Run, and Vigo. If you know voters in any of these Indiana school districts let them know of your support for Tim Skinner. Send him a donation if you can.

We need more strong advocates for public education like Tim Skinner in the Indiana House of Representatives.

Thanks for your strong advocacy for public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization. Please contact me at vic790@aol.com to add an email address or to remove an address from the distribution list.

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

###

Vic’s Election Notes on Education #39– October 3, 2016

Dear Friends,

[Note: There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization.]

---

Here is the question that deserves attention on the October 4th Vice Presidential debate:

Why is Mike Pence supporting Donald Trump’s plan for the biggest federal intrusion into state and local schools in American history?

Donald Trump, in a September 8th speech in Cleveland given little media attention, said he would use the power of the Presidency to have all 50 states use public tax money to pay for private and religious school tuition. He said it would cost $20 billion in federal dollars and $110 billion in state dollars, and he would lead the effort.

At this point, 20 states have completely resisted entwining church and state by using public dollars for private and religious schools, and for very good reasons. Other states have very limited school choice programs. Under Article 10 of the U.S. Constitution, education matters should be left to the states.

Now Donald Trump wants to ignore Article 10 and push a federal mandate for private school vouchers in the name of school choice.

Remember, just like the name implies, “school choice” in private schools means that the private school has the choice and they can refuse to enroll any student they do not want. They do not even need to give a reason. Public schools enroll any and all students who may apply.

Incredibly, Mike Pence who has made a career of resisting federal intrusion into school and local schools, has gone along with the Trump plan. Mike Pence voted against the 2001 No Child Left Behind, saying it was an intrusion of the federal government into policies that should be controlled by the state. He turned down a 2014 federal grant of $80 million for pre-kindergarten programs in Indiana saying it would lead to federal intrusion.

Now he says Donald Trump’s plan to have all 50 states to use public tax money to pay for private and religious school tuition is just fine. Why this obvious hypocrisy? Why ignore Article 10? That’s the question for his debate with Tim Kaine.

[Please note: Indiana Code 3-14-1-17 says that government employees including public school employees may not “use the property of the employee’s government employer to” support the “election or defeat of a candidate” and may not distribute this message “on the government employer’s real property during regular working hours.” Ironically, the law does not prevent private school employees from using computers purchased with public voucher money to distribute campaign materials. Private schools now financed in part by public voucher dollars have retained all rights under Indiana’s voucher laws to engage in partisan political campaigns.]

Donald Trump’s Plan to Privatize Public Education

Speaking in Cleveland on September 8th, Donald Trump demeaned public schools and missed the irony of incorrectly calling them “our government run monopoly schools” while speaking at a charter school. Charter schools years ago ended any credible talk of “monopoly” by offering publicly funded options to parents.

Donald Trump called for magnet school and charter school options, without pointing out that those options already exist. Then he called for using tax money to pay for private and religious school tuition. Two key points:

• He said he would divert $20 billion dollars in existing federal education funding for a block grant to states to pay for private school tuition. This concept was proposed and rejected by the Republican Congress when they passed the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015. Presumably the $20 billion would be taken away from the much needed Title 1 funding which now helps all disadvantaged students with reading and math skills. This would damage current student programs.

• He said it would take $110 billion in state dollars to fund school choice nationwide and he would personally campaign in each state to elect state politicians who don’t resist funding private school tuition at that amount. Quick calculations show that Indiana’s share of his $110 billion would be about $2 billion.

$2 billion for private school tuition!!

Contrast that with 2015-16 state reports showing Indiana spent $53 million for private school vouchers for one of the biggest voucher programs in the nation. Do Indiana taxpayers want to raise the ante for private school vouchers from $53 million to $2 billion?? Donald Trump’s plan has no basis in reality!

Does America Want Donald Trump to Dismantle Public Education in the United States?

From its roots in the 1830’s, public education has brought the United States to a position of world power with its system of non-sectarian, non-partisan, publicly funded schools supervised by school boards elected following the rules of democracy and pledged to transparent public access in their records.

Now Donald Trump wants to spend billions in federal dollars to pay for tuition at sectarian and potentially partisan schools that are not run by elected officials and do not have to offer public access to records.

I oppose Donald Trump’s plan.

I strongly oppose public money from any source paying for private and religious school vouchers.

The Clinton/Kaine team has no plans for a federal intrusion to privatize our public schools in all 50 states. Since supporting public education is my highest priority, I will be voting for Clinton/Kaine.

The Johnson/Weld Libertarian team does not support public education as a matter of principle to reduce government.

Therefore to support public education, I strongly stand in the “Never Trump/Pence” camp and the “Never Johnson/Weld” camp.

I hope Mike Pence will be asked in his Tuesday debate why he supports federal intervention to pay for vouchers at private and religious schools when he has opposed federal intrusion in state school policy until now.

Thanks for your strong advocacy for public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization. Please contact me at vic790@aol.com to add an email address or to remove an address from the distribution list.

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

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Vic’s Election Notes on Education #38– September 26, 2016

Dear Friends,

[Note: There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization.]

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act has left a troubling legacy.

Religious schools were exempted by the RFRA fix. In 2015-16, $133.4 million in public tax money was awarded to religious voucher schools that can legally deny services under RFRA to students and families based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed in 2015 with the strong support of Governor Pence.

Now candidate John Gregg wants to repeal RFRA and repair the damage done to Indiana’s reputation, while candidate Eric Holcomb supports RFRA.

I support John Gregg. We must not legally allow discrimination of any form in schools that receive public tax money.

Public schools do not discriminate and private schools taking public money must not be legally allowed to discriminate either.

[Please note: Indiana Code 3-14-1-17 says that government employees including public school employees may not “use the property of the employee’s government employer to” support the “election or defeat of a candidate” and may not distribute this message “on the government employer’s real property during regular working hours.” Ironically, the law does not prevent private school employees from using computers purchased with public voucher money to distribute campaign materials. Private schools now financed in part by public voucher dollars have retained all rights under Indiana’s voucher laws to engage in partisan political campaigns.]

Religious Voucher Schools Exempted from the RFRA Fix

When the 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act was fixed to quell the national firestorm damaging Indiana’s reputation, religious voucher schools were left out of the fix.

When the fix (Senate Bill 50) said that providers could not refuse service to citizens, religious schools were specifically deleted from the definition of “providers” covered by the fix.

Religious schools that accept vouchers are the only entities exempted by the fix that receive public tax dollars.

This means that 297 religious voucher schools that received $133 million in public tax money in 2015-16 can legally deny services to students and families based on sexual orientation and gender identity while 9 non-religious voucher schools that received $1.3 million cannot. These financial figures are found in the Choice Scholarship Program Annual Report, Appendix C, issued by the Office of School Finance of the Indiana Department of Education on July 18, 2016,

Two Categories of Private Voucher Schools

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the subsequent fix have created different legal rights for religious schools than for private schools that are independent and non-religious. Thus, private voucher schools must now be looked at in two categories: religious and non-religious.

How did this happen?

The Fix: Senate Bill 50 – The Details

You remember the crisis. Speaker Bosma and President Pro Tem Long said on the Monday before Final Four weekend in 2015 that RFRA needed to be clarified, and by Thursday of that week, Senate Bill 50 had been written, passed by both houses and signed by the Governor. The crisis was addressed. The Final Four and the difficult job of reputation restoration began. The state contracted with an out-of-state public relations firm to restore Indiana’s national and international image.

Have you read the hurriedly written Senate Bill 50, commonly known as the fix?

It added language to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that begins:

“This chapter does not: (1) authorize a provider to refuse to offer or provide services, facilities, use of public accommodations, goods, employment, or housing to any member or members of the general public on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or United States military service;”

That language reassured the outside world. Then it exempted religious schools!

It defined “provider” as:

“one (1) or more individuals, partnerships, associations, organizations, limited liability companies, corporations, and other organized groups of persons. The term does not include: (1) A church or other nonprofit religious organization or society, including an affiliated school, that is exempt from federal income taxation”

Thus, churches and their affiliated schools were exempted from the fix.

Should Entities Getting Tax Money Have a License to Discriminate?

Churches do not get tax money to run their operations, so their omission was expected.

Church schools, however, that choose to accept Choice Scholarships (vouchers) get millions of dollars from the Indiana treasury, approximately $133 million according to the 2016 financial report on vouchers issued by the Indiana Department of Education in July 2016.

Leaving open the legal basis for religious schools to refuse to provide services when they are getting public money to provide those services is just wrong.

Should Religious Voucher Schools Be Excluded from the Fix When Non-Religious Non-Sectarian Voucher Schools are Not?

Senate Bill 50 puts voucher schools in two categories. Religiously affiliated schools are excluded from the fix and thus apparently retain legal standing to deny services under the law. Non-religious voucher schools under Senate Bill 50 are providers who must not deny services.

According to the listing of 306 private schools receiving state funding in Appendix C of the annual financial report on the voucher program issued by IDOE in July 2016, 9 private schools are independent and non-religious. They received $1.29 million in public tax money. The report lists 297 private schools with religious affiliation.

The report listed the total amount for vouchers awarded to all private schools as $134.74 million. When that total is reduced by the $1.29 million going to non-religious schools, the total amount going to religious schools exempted by the fix is $133.45 million.

The report is easily available on the IDOE website, listed under Choice Scholarships and dated July 18, 2016.

That the General Assembly would put these two groups in different legal categories regarding denial of services is both incredible and inappropriate.

The non-sectarian Evansville Day School in Evansville should not be given a different legal standing from the church-affiliated St. Joan of Arc School in Indianapolis as regards providing services to the general public. The General Assembly needs to fix this.

Do religious voucher schools have a license to discriminate? The General Assembly needs to fix the fix.

Can 297 religiously affiliated schools that accepted over $133 million dollars in Indiana tax dollars in 2015-16 deny services based on RFRA?

If this issue concerns you, contact legislative and gubernatorial candidates about allowing tax funded private voucher schools to legally deny services under the law.

This is truly a confusing and intolerable situation about private voucher schools which must be clarified by the General Assembly and by the next Governor.

I support gubernatorial candidate John Gregg, an advocate for public education, to lead the way to fix this.

Thanks for your strong advocacy for public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

There is no link between “Vic’s Election Notes on Education” and any organization. Please contact me at vic790@aol.com to add an email address or to remove an address from the distribution list.

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

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