House passes bill that would allow State to remove Glenda Ritz from board

[SnoopLoggyDog]

House passes bill that would allow State to remove Glenda Ritz from board | Fox 59

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (February 9, 2015) — The battle between the State Board of Education and Superintendent Glenda Ritz continues Monday. A vote on House Bill 1609 passed by a vote of 58-40. The bill would remove Ritz as the board chairperson and allow board members to elect a chairperson each year.

Governor Mike Pence issued the following statement:

“Allowing the State Board of Education to elect its chair is an important step to restore the kind of harmony and consensus needed to serve our students and our schools. I commend the leadership of Speaker Brian Bosma, Representative Jud McMillin and all the members of the House of Representatives who acted today to fix what is broken in education governance for the benefit of all our kids.”
​

Ritz supporters took to Twitter Sunday night to share their frustration with HB 1609. Hundreds of people used #IStandwithRitz to reach out to lawmakers about the superintendent. The topic was even trending on Twitter Sunday night and Monday morning.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

House passes bill that would allow State to remove Glenda Ritz from board | Fox 59

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (February 9, 2015) — The battle between the State Board of Education and Superintendent Glenda Ritz continues Monday. A vote on House Bill 1609 passed by a vote of 58-40. The bill would remove Ritz as the board chairperson and allow board members to elect a chairperson each year.

Governor Mike Pence issued the following statement:

“Allowing the State Board of Education to elect its chair is an important step to restore the kind of harmony and consensus needed to serve our students and our schools. I commend the leadership of Speaker Brian Bosma, Representative Jud McMillin and all the members of the House of Representatives who acted today to fix what is broken in education governance for the benefit of all our kids.”
​

Ritz supporters took to Twitter Sunday night to share their frustration with HB 1609. Hundreds of people used #IStandwithRitz to reach out to lawmakers about the superintendent. The topic was even trending on Twitter Sunday night and Monday morning.

I must admit my ignorance...what is driving this?

 

[funeralweb]

It annoys Gov. Pence that the duly elected Supt. Ritz unseated Republican incumbent Tony Bennett, and did so in grand fashion as she garnered more votes in her race than Pence did in his. As a conservative who happened to vote for Ritz over the decidedly corrupt Bennett, I am ashamed of the way Indiana Republicans have conducted themselves lately. Indiana is as upside-down as the rest of our country and world.

 

[hornadylnl]

I must admit my ignorance...what is driving this?

I would guess the biggest driver is that Pence and the majority in congress are republicans and Ritz is a democrat.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

It annoys Gov. Pence that the duly elected Supt. Ritz unseated Republican incumbent Tony Bennett, and did so in grand fashion as she garnered more votes in her race than Pence did in his. As a conservative who happened to vote for Ritz over the decidedly corrupt Bennett, I am ashamed of the way Indiana Republicans have conducted themselves lately. Indiana is as upside-down as the rest of our country and world.

I would guess the biggest driver is that Pence and the majority in congress are republicans and Ritz is a democrat.

My cynical side would jump to the presumption as well. Just thought there might be some articles to stories that might justify it.

 

[MrsGungho]

My cynical side would jump to the presumption as well. Just thought there might be some articles to stories that might justify it.

10 epic clashes between Glenda Ritz, Indiana State Board of Education

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

10 epic clashes between Glenda Ritz, Indiana State Board of Education

Thanks. It's not clear one side is the problem but both seem to be tittin'-for-tattin'.

 

[MrsGungho]

Thanks. It's not clear one side is the problem but both seem to be tittin'-for-tattin'.

that's the way I read it

 

[mrjarrell]

Pence just doesn't like it that the voters of Indiana chose a democrat to run a republican dominated board. He'd much rather have had the old, corrupt republican still there. This way he gets to change things to his liking. It'll be interesting to see if the voters decide to pay him back for his chicanery.

 

[bwframe]

Glenda Ritz is the "Jimmy Hoffa" of Indiana teacher's unions. There are a lot of them and they have influence:

The basics of teachers unions in Indiana | Chalkbeat

...Teachers unions, once a powerful force in Indiana, have struggled in recent years with financial troubles, legal woes and diminished political power.
But with more than 45,000 teacher union members across the state and a former union leader elected as state superintendent of public instruction in 2012, Indiana’s union movement remains influential and is aiming for a revival...


Do we trust the union to make best decisions affecting our children?

 

[jdmack79]

I'm a public school teacher that isn't a union member, but I do support Ritz in this case. The Indiana Republicans are increasingly taking control away from local school districts and giving the state more and more power. It's ridiculous. There are numerous state Republicans that I will now never vote for again. (not that I'll be voting Democrat)

 

[Captain Bligh]

We should all be appalled that the legislature and Governor Pence are trying to circumvent electoral process. The people spoke. Let it be until the next election by the people, and see how the people speak then. It's how it's supposed to work.

 

[bwframe]

On a related note:

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/gov-pence-signs-executive-order-to-shorten-istep-test

Speaker Bosma Supports Governor's Executive Order

...The decision to greatly multiply testing time in 2015 was the Superintendent’s decision alone, and legislators and even the State Board of Education were not consulted or informed of this before the public announcement of the extended test time...

 

[mrjarrell]

We should all be appalled that the legislature and Governor Pence are trying to circumvent electoral process. The people spoke. Let it be until the next election by the people, and see how the people speak then. It's how it's supposed to work.

If Ritz were to lose to a republicrat opponent, they'd move to switch things back in a hot minute.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

We should all be appalled that the legislature and Governor Pence are trying to circumvent electoral process. The people spoke. Let it be until the next election by the people, and see how the people speak then. It's how it's supposed to work.

Huh...I read on INGO today that we shouldn't have to wait around for the electoral process when ends are important enough.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Speaker Bosma Supports Governor's Executive Order

Why were the testing times tripled?

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Meh, it's politics. Let them vote out whoever they want. If people don't like it, they'll vote against them next time.

Boo-hoo.

 

[BigMoose]

Ritz is a twit, the sooner she is gone the sooner we won't have to hear about this junk again.

 

[jdmack79]

Ritz is a twit, the sooner she is gone the sooner we won't have to hear about this junk again.

I wish I knew more about her than I do. I admit that I'm not as informed about Ritz as I should be. Why do you dislike her?

 

[BigMoose]

Just from hearing her talk. Gut feeling... guess I can smell a liberal ninny with no basis in the real world a mile away.