Vic’s Election Notes on Education #30– April 28, 2016

Dear Friends,

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

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Every advocate for public education should know that Senator Vaneta Becker has been a true friend of public education for a long time.

Now she is running for reelection in Indiana Senate District 50 in the May 3rd primary. Jeremy Heath is challenging her in the Republican primary.

The choice is clear. Senator Becker deserves the strong support of all who support public education in Senate District 50 and across Indiana in her race for reelection on May 3rd.

[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.]

Senate District 50

Senate District 50 includes portions of Vanderburgh County and adjoining portions of Warrick County bordering the Ohio River. Senator Becker has served District 50 with distinction since 2005.

Senator Vaneta Becker

Senator Becker was a strong voice for public education in the House for 24 years starting in 1981 before moving to the Senate in 2005.

She knows public education well. Her husband, now retired, served the students of Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in a long career as a teacher and school administrator.

In the twenty years that I have been observing the General Assembly, I watched Senator Becker stand up strongly for public education in the battle against private school vouchers in 2005 when the proposal failed, and again in 2011 when the proposal unfortunately passed. She knows deeply the issues involved in protecting public education from attacks and providing resources needed for our public school students. She is not afraid to speak her mind. She has earned the respect of every public education advocate who has worked with her.

Her opponent Jeremy Heath ran unsuccessfully for the General Assembly in 2014 against Representative Gail Riecken. He has not made education issues a major part of his campaign against Senator Becker. It is not clear from his campaign statements available online whether he supports or opposes private school vouchers.

A Clear Choice for Primary Voters

In a largely Republican area, the winner of the May 3rd primary election will be the clear favorite in the general election this fall.

The difference is clear. Vaneta Becker deserves the support of all public school advocates, especially those in Senate District 50. Be sure to vote!

The stakes are high in our bicentennial year.

Contact your friends in Senate District 50.

Thanks for standing up in support of 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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