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

[HamYankee]

I suspect Ritz and Pence both got to office thinking they each had a mandate and aren't too willing to hear the other side. I doubt the Republicans oppose her just because she's a democrat, but probably more likely she is diametrically opposite to their philosophical views.
Now, I am conservative, however, I disagree with some of what the state is doing with education.
My wife is a teacher and their union protections are pretty much wiped out. The teachers are treated with disrespect by the public, politicians, parents, students, and the administration, whom all think they know better.

In my wife's school that was the former HS of Governor Daniels, the administration $H*T on teachers and fu*#ing disrespect them every chance they get. Meanwhile these little innocent "children," who are 6 feet tall with beards attempt to smoke dope, have sex, and practice loud mouthed talking and disrespect like it is a religion.

Nobody's got a teacher's back these days and it stinks. Teachers are basically being pushed in to policies that would hand out free "C" grades to an a-hole "student" who doesn't do a damn thing in class.

They don't want teachers to teach because it reveals the ineptitude in the community culture. They want the teachers to just play along.

 

[LP1]

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

Do we trust the voters to choose the superintendent, or do we need the governor to save us from ourselves?

Pence's actions are an insult to all of the citizens of Indiana, and he should be held accountable.

 

[bwframe]

I'm a public school teacher that isn't a union member, but I do support Ritz in this case...

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

^^^ With all due respect, this is why we have Glenda Ritz to deal with. ^^^

We'd all like to believe our teachers, as we entrust our most precious things in life to them. Our teachers sold a huge % of otherwise smarter voters with this sort of "because I'm the teacher of your children, I know best," rational.

 

[LP1]

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

In other words, you got nuthin'.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Do we trust the voters to choose the superintendent, or do we need the governor to save us from ourselves?

Pence's actions are an insult to all of the citizens of Indiana, and he should be held accountable.

I wish I was more knowledgable about this when I ask: are you saying this because you know the superintendant is in the right or because of your dislike for Pence (if you do dislike him)?

 

[jdmack79]

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

Your gut feeling would be wrong. Although Glenda Ritz was a union executive, which I'm opposed to, she was also a Republican. Her "real world" experience is that she was an educator for many years. That is, she worked for a very long time in the same field she is tasked with overseeing.


I would argue that what legislature has been doing to schools over the years is anything but conservative. According to small government conservatism, Republicans should be reducing regulations and decentralizing control. They are doing the very opposite. Education regulations are rapidly increasing, state mandated testing is increasing, and local school districts are constantly losing power to the state.

I doubt that the Democrats would do any better, but I certainly think Pence isn't doing a good job in regards to education. Maybe we should look past party identification and realize that same governor that wanted to create a state news agency isn't for small, efficient, and localized government.

 

[Dosproduction]

If they are a politician in any sense they are corrupt. Pence is no the dictator in charge of this state. If the voters voted for her let them vote her out. I would prefer that if the majority of people did not vote for you then you can not be in office. Since I presume the majority of people in Indiana did not vote for either then nether should be running anything. Leave the spot open till 60% of Indiana vote for them.

 

[jdmack79]

^^^ With all due respect, this is why we have Glenda Ritz to deal with. ^^^

We'd all like to believe our teachers, as we entrust our most precious things in life to them. Our teachers sold a huge % of otherwise smarter voters with this sort of "because I'm the teacher of your children, I know best," rational.

I posted the above to try to get the quoted guy to flesh out his thoughts, which we now know were not based upon facts.

How do we "have her to deal with?"


She defeated Tony Bennett by a good number of votes. We "have her to deal with" because Tony Bennett was a corrupt and arguably incompetent politician.

 

[LP1]

I wish I was more knowledgable about this when I ask: are you saying this because you know the superintendant is in the right or because of your dislike for Pence (if you do dislike him)?

This is a clear effort by Pence to undermine the will of the voters because he doesn't agree with the result. I hoped that he was a man of principle, but he's shown himself to be just another political hack. Ritz won the election fair and square, and should be allowed to do her job for the rest of her duly-elected term. The voters sent a clear message by electing her. If we don't like the way she does the job, we can vote for someone else next time. Or if it makes sense to change the way that position is filled (personally, I prefer the ability to elect rather than appoint), the changes should become effective at the end of her term.

 

[87iroc]

There was heated debate with Mr. Lucas this weekend in Seymour I guess over htis. Saw some very civil back and forth between a friend of mine on FB and Lucas. Good discussion. I guess OK and IN are the only 2 with Superintendents set up like ours is. Both are having disfunction in the ranks. It was a good idea as long as the person in charge was in line with the majority party. It falls apart when the voters say different. Bennett is gone and thats a good thing. Ritz, even though I voted for her, hasn't' impressed me. I'm still glad Bennett is out, though.

I can tell HamYankee above tells the truth(isn't making his story up). That post could have been typed by me. Same stuff my wife deals with in IPS. She has no support from within the school district and she's the one graded on her 'performance'. 70 kids in her class in the first 9 weeks of the year....but downtown wouldn't do anything for her. Just said 'sorry' when they finally showed up to 'audit' then a month later nothing had changed. She's about done with public education.

 

[amboy49]

Recent news story on TV reported that Pence is calling for a reduction in iStep testing - which does seem like a good thing if I understand the total number of hours required. And . . . . if Ritz was responsible for implementing the increased testing then I believe there is cause for concern.

To further enlighten me, why is the chairman position so critical ? I assume she will still hold her elected position and still be on the committee. Would it mean she would lose her vote or just not be able control the format/agenda of the meetings and/or keep items she doesn't like off of the agenda ?

Something about this whole thing smells fishy. I'm certain politics are being played here. I just hope the school kids are negatively impacted. Perhaps home schooling would be better. Oh wait, there are too families with two working parents, too many families with only one parent, or two many families that would be too lazy/incompetent to teach their own children.

 

[CathyInBlue]

The Supt. of Public Instruction is a Constitutional office in Indiana. As much as I loathe all things Democrat, how can this elected officer not be the head of the governmental department with the same duties and authorities as her office?

 

[Ballstater98]

This is a clear effort by Pence to undermine the will of the voters because he doesn't agree with the result. I hoped that he was a man of principle, but he's shown himself to be just another political hack. Ritz won the election fair and square, and should be allowed to do her job for the rest of her duly-elected term. The voters sent a clear message by electing her. If we don't like the way she does the job, we can vote for someone else next time. Or if it makes sense to change the way that position is filled (personally, I prefer the ability to elect rather than appoint), the changes should become effective at the end of her term.

Exactly, this bill was a vote to take away the public's vote. Everyone should feel insulted.

 

[bwframe]

This is a clear effort by Pence to undermine the will of the voters because he doesn't agree with the result...

Pence didn't do this. It was the House of Representatives super majority, that we elected to fix this sort of . The voters ARE speaking with these actions.

 

[jdmack79]

Pence didn't do this. It was the House of Representatives super majority, that we elected to fix this sort of . The voters ARE speaking with these actions.

The same majority that removed the Daniels/Pence supported Tony Bennett from office and elected Glenda Ritz? You must mean that the majority of voters who elected Glenda Ritz to be Superintendent of Education disagree with her views on education.


I hope you wouldn't have complained if the Democrats stripped our gun rights even further when they had big majorities during the Bush years. I mean, the voters did elect them after all.

 

[Shadow8088]

So what you're saying is... they're going to circumvent her being voted, legally, into office.... well ****.. why do we even bother to effing vote then??

 

[hornadylnl]

The same majority competent enough to determine what days alcohol can be sold is suddenly too incompetent to elect their leaders.

 

[John Galt]

From Lucas' Facebook post on this topic
FACTS! FACTS! FACTS! Get the FACTS and THINK FOR YOURSELF!
The biggest misunderstanding I keep hearing about HB1609 is that it "takes away the will of the 1.3 million people that elected Superintendent Ritz".
Take a deep breath, it does NOT do that!
Here's the quick skinny for those that want to know the facts:
1) The Indiana Legislature passes laws and determines funding.
2) The SBOE (State Board of Education) adopts rules and sets goals.
3) The SPI (Superintendent of Public Instruction) IMPLEMENTS the laws and rules that the Legislature passes and SBOE adopts.
4) Under current law, the SPI is also the Chair of the SBOE.
5) The duty of the Chair is to ensure that the Board or Committee functions properly and fulfills its duties and responsibilities.
6) The SBOE is comprised of 11 members, 10 of which are appointed by the Governor: the SPI, 1 appointed representative from each Congressional district and 1 At Large.
7) There can only be 6 members from the majority political party, with the remaining 4 members from the minority party. A MINIMUM of 4 members must be actively employed in Indiana schools and hold a valid teaching license. Our current Governor-appointed Board has all but two education involved members, ranging from elementary school teachers to university presidents. ALL are HIGHLY RESPECTED members of the education community. Read about the Board here - SBOE: Board Members
8) There has been MAJOR dysfunction on the Board. Type in "indianapolis star sboe Ritz" on your browser to read for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
9) HB1609 merely allows the SBOE to elect their own Chair. Period. Nothing more. Nothing less. Currently, Indiana and Oklahoma are the only two states in the country that have the SPI automatically Chair the SBOE, and both states are experiencing major dysfunction. 36 states allow the SBOE to elect their Chair and 8 states the Governor appoints the Chair.
10) Under HB1609, the SPI IS STILL on the SBOE. The SPI STILL has a vote. The SPI CAN STILL run for Chair.
11) HB 1609 DOES NOT AFFECT the powers of the SPI to do their duty of implementing laws.
12) Superintendent Ritz testified before the House Education Committee on Tuesday the 3rd and read a prepared statement. She then walked out of the meeting, without being dismissed, and prevented the Committee from asking questions and prevented millions of Hoosiers from hearing HER side of the multiple stories reporting the dysfunction of the SBOE.
13) It is being widely reported that HB1609 "takes away the will of the 1.3 million people that elected Superintendent Ritz".
14) A Board/Committee has to be able to function efficiently to perform its lawful duties and it is up to the Chair to ensure that that happens. Period. When that fails to happen, the Legislature has a lawful and moral duty and obligation as elected officials (same as the SPI) to make sure that the Board is given the tools necessary to properly perform its lawfully required duties.


What of the will of the millions of Hoosiers that elected:
A Republican Governor?
A Republican Lt. Governor?
A Republican Attorney General?
A Republican Secretary of State?
A Republican Auditor?
A Republican Treasurer?
A Republican supermajority in the House with 71 Republicans?
A Republican supermajority in the Senate with 40 Republicans?

 

[Kutnupe14]

IANAL, but could this law possibly run afoul of expost facto protections, if used to unseat Ritz? It only seem right, that this couldn't be enacted until a next election cycle, or with a new person in the position.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

This is a clear effort by Pence to undermine the will of the voters because he doesn't agree with the result. I hoped that he was a man of principle, but he's shown himself to be just another political hack. Ritz won the election fair and square, and should be allowed to do her job for the rest of her duly-elected term. The voters sent a clear message by electing her. If we don't like the way she does the job, we can vote for someone else next time. Or if it makes sense to change the way that position is filled (personally, I prefer the ability to elect rather than appoint), the changes should become effective at the end of her term.

OK. So no facts. Just disgust over what may be an over step by the legislature. I'll have to defer as this is an area about which I'm not so sure.