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

[bwframe]

I think that Ritz got elected because people realized how bad Tony Bennett had F#%ked the job up before.

Teacher or teacher in the family?

 

[John Galt]

Here's how simple it is:
As Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), the SPI Chairs the State Board of Education (SBOE).
The duty of ANY Chair is to see that the Board/Committee fulfills its duties and obligations.
The Chair was using that position to block laws and policies passed by the Legislature.
This is not the responsibility of the Chair.
The duty of ANY Chair is to see that the Board/Committee fulfills its duties and obligations.
The Department of Education (DOE) gathers and provides information/data to the SBOE.
The SPI, as head of the DOE, was not getting necessary information/data to the SBOE in a timely fashion.
The Chair was not allowing necessary education issues be discussed at the meetings.
The Chair sued the SBOE after they went to the Statehouse Legislative Services Agency to get the data that the DOE would not provide, data that was necessary to implement laws passed by the General Assembly.
The Chair walked out of a meeting.
HB1609 merely gives the SBOE the power to elect their own Chair.
The SPI is still the SPI, with all of the powers and responsibilities as before this bill.
The SPI still is on the SBOE.
The SPI still has a vote on the SBOE.
The SPI can still run to be elected as Chair of the SBOE.
HB1609 was amended to not take affect until July 1st, 2015 to let the SPI and SBOE time to iron out their differences.
She was not performing her duties and responsibilities as Chair.
HB1609 provides an option to the dysfunction.
If a Chair were acting like this in the private sector, this change would have happened a long time ago.

 

[jdmack79]

Teacher or teacher in the family?

Do you have super secret information to prove he is an educator? Jeremy anyone?

 

[rhino]

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.

All of the above is correct. The "they're undermining the will of the people" crap is getting tiresome. I'll bet that most people who are fuming over this have literally no idea what the role of the superintendent of public instruction was when they voted for her and not many more do now. They probably don't even know that IDOE and the state board of ed are two distinct entities.

To reiterate:

The superintendent's primary role head of the Indiana Department of Education. The IDOE is their kingdom to command. Nothing in the current bills touches this. The substantive goal of the bills is to eliminate the automatic appointment of the superintendent as the chairman of the board of ed. The superintendent will still be a member of the board and as eligible to be elected as chair as any other member. It just won't be automatic anymore. They will be able to elect their own chair.

I think that's a good thing.

 

[level.eleven]

It is too bad that JustIN got the axe. Reading Pence's Pravda article on why election results were nullified would make for great comedy.

 

[kiddchaos]

I guess we don't get to vote:

The House bill would effectively remove Ritz as State Board of Education chair by having the 10 gubernatorial appointees to the 11-member board vote for a new chairman.

But opponents have pointed out that most other school boards in Indiana are elected by voters and this one is appointed by the governor, which is also abnormal.

source from my prev post

Would you rather elect someone or have someone elected appoint his or her buddies?

.

 

[amboy49]

I guess we don't get to vote:

source from my prev post

Would you rather elect someone or have someone elected appoint his or her buddies?

.

I would be willing to bet a reasonably large sum of money that very few folks would take the time to do background research on board candidates prior to the election and even fewer would impart that knowledge prior to/during voting. I bet most people voting for the state superintendent pulled the lever for their party while not actually knowing much about the candidates. And furthermore, what's the per centage of Indiana residents who actually voted ? Less than 25% ?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I would be willing to bet a reasonably large sum of money that very few folks would take the time to do background research on board candidates prior to the election and even fewer would impart that knowledge prior to/during voting. I bet most people voting for the state superintendent pulled the lever for their party while not actually knowing much about the candidates. And furthermore, what's the per centage of Indiana residents who actually voted ? Less than 25% ?

You're probably right. On the down ticket races, it's very difficult to vet the candidates properly--especially the judges. It seems like, unless the race is in the news or controversial, the only information you can find is what the candidates put on their websites or what's written in the local papers. And even when the races are covered, the coverage is so often partisan, it's next to useless as well.

 

[level.eleven]

I guess we don't get to vote:

source from my prev post

Would you rather elect someone or have someone elected appoint his or her buddies?

.

It is the new "small government" way that all of these Republicans espouse. Elections are for the little people. Read the comment below. People are dumb and don't know enough to vote further down the ballot. Therefore, give us all the power - we know what is best. A snapshot of modern conservatism.

 

[bwframe]

Do you have super secret information to prove he is an educator?...

Just an observation in jest about those supporting poor Ms Ritz in this thread. It appears as though nearly all of you have some sort of a financial interest involved in your commentary?

 

[hornadylnl]

I would be willing to bet a reasonably large sum of money that very few folks would take the time to do background research on board candidates prior to the election and even fewer would impart that knowledge prior to/during voting. I bet most people voting for the state superintendent pulled the lever for their party while not actually knowing much about the candidates. And furthermore, what's the per centage of Indiana residents who actually voted ? Less than 25% ?

100% of eligible voters vote in every election.

 

[amboy49]

100% of eligible voters vote in every election.

I think you forgot the purple ! ! ! Or at least I hope so.

 

[hornadylnl]

I think you forgot the purple ! ! ! Or at least I hope so.

No purple at all.

 

[jdmack79]

Just an observation in jest about those supporting poor Ms Ritz in this thread. It appears as though nearly all of you have some sort of a financial interest involved in your commentary?

No, I'm just someone has seen first hand how badly your "conservative" buddies have messed things up with their increasingly absurd regulations. How on Earth can you support these allegedly conservative politicians in their quest to centralize control of education and rule through this top down approach? Shouldn't "conservatives" support local input and control over a district's schools?



I anxiously await the evidence that shows their approach is working and that schools are so much better now with more state control than they were thirty years ago when local school districts had more power.

 

[Fred78]

That is a nice bunch of facts you got there but the fact is Pence and his cronies have been doing EVERYTHING in their power to either fire the lady or make her quit. If I was that lady I would call a press conference tell the public what it already knows grab my ditty bag and go get ready for turkey season and let them rehire their good ole buddy Bennet if he isn't in jail Oh yes I would collect my salary full term.

 

[bwframe]

...I'm just someone has seen first hand how badly your "conservative" buddies have messed things up...

I know, that's why they keep getting reelected and gaining numbers in their super-majorities.
It's sad days for the liberals and 'tarian cult followers isn't it?

 

[Blackhawk2001]

What I've seen in this state is an increasing ineffectiveness of the public school system. I don't say that this is because of any particular teacher, in fact I sympathize with the plight of many of our fine school teachers, but the failure seems to rest in the conditions set by the federal government and the courts - and the "professional educator" lobby which presumes to tell parents what is best for their own children on seemingly every aspect of behavior, thought, and action, but seems simultaneously incapable of actually educating many children to a basic level that their parents and grandparents (and great-grandparents) achieved in years past. I don't know if it is the decision to emphasize sports and facilities over teacher numbers and class sizes, or dumbing down classes so the slowest can "keep up" with brighter students, or whatever else. But I CAN see that public education has been deteriorating since the 1960s at least and the "education establishment" just keeps making things worse. It appears Tony Bennett had some ethical problems in his administration, but people here have apparently forgotten that Glenda Ritz had some ethical problems on the board of the State Teachers Association which were apparently not well investigated or reported prior to her election. People also tend to forget that, by all accounts I've read, she has been at war with her Board of Education since her investiture in office. In fact, what I've read about her conduct reminds me greatly of the way Harry Reid ran the Senate - not a sterling job performance recommendation in my book. Mike Pence's wife is a long-time educator herself, so he's not uninformed about the state of education in Indiana, and he appears to be working to compromise to get things done; up until this recent flap with ISTEP testing, I haven't seen any indication that Glenda Ritz has been willing to do the same.

 

[bwframe]

Don't forget to head to the statehouse tomorrow for the next teacher's union protest:
https://ista-in.org/save-the-date-education-rally-at-the-statehouse-feb-16

Is Pat Bauer, Peggy Welsh and Ed Delaney still in Illinois?

 

[Leo]

Until all this removal business started and the school teachers in my family got their feathers all ruffled, all I heard about was that she was not able to lead, not able to work within her authority, not able to follow through, not able develop and set goals, not able to keep commitments, not able to critically examine data, etc. The only time I saw her on the news she was ranting and not acting like someone who even had a clue of what the productive, taxpaying citizens of this state would be willing to support. She sounded like an imbalanced person nearing breakdown. I wrote her off then. Once the Governor stepped in, it became a them vs. us, conservative vs. liberal. When I mention the prior complaints my school teacher relative said in the past, all I got was a lot of "yah, but they" excuses back. The world of academia has had a long history of doing whatever they want and avoiding accountability. I think that trend is starting to reverse and those in that political sphere are ticked.

I have not had kids in school for about 18 years so I do not pay real close attention, but even 25 years ago you could see the shift away from local control of the public schools. You cannot brain wash the all the kids if you allow local control of the school systems. The education of the masses has decilned drastically. Take out the top 10 percent and the bottom 10 percent of both groups and the class of 1965 would outperform the class of 2015 in every sector, including physically.

 

[jdmack79]

Lazy, non-union, public teacher who needs state oversight checking in here.


I wish the state would force the local school districts to plow the parking lots. It wasn't easy for me to show up and work today on my day off.