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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