This Wednesday, the State Board of Education will be voting on a resolution essentially to strip away State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz's authority as Chair of the board, transferring responsibilities to the Center for Education and Career Innovation (CECI). Read more about their actions on the ISTA website. Here's what our friend, Indiana Coalition for Public Education (ICPE) member and retired teacher Phyllis Bush has to say, "It's no secret that the Governor and the CECI have wanted to remove Superintendent Ritz as Chair of the State Board of Education. In December, it was disclosed in a leaked CECI memo that Ritz being the Chair was perceived as a "problem" that should be addressed by the legislature. The goal then was to have the Chair appointed by the Governor. "This latest move coincides with efforts to seemingly make the Department of Education a minor administrative bureaucracy folded within one agency under the Governor's office. "Efforts first began when the Governor, with the stroke of a pen and without legislative approval, created and diverted funding for his duplicate education agency, the CECI. "We learned just weeks ago that the Governor's Indiana Career Council has adopted a new strategic plan that includes consolidating more than 30 state agencies and programs, including the Department of Education, totaling more than $650 million, under one lead agency directed by the Governor."
Do you oppose taking power away from the elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction? If so, make your voice heard before Wednesday's State Board of Education meeting.
Urge the Governor, state legislators, State Board of Education members and local school board members to object to stripping powers from the elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz and placing the DOE under another agency that reports solely to the Governor. That agency, by the way, costs lots of tax money.
Here's what our partner the ISTA is urging its members to do.
Superintendent Ritz needs your support. - Over 1.3 million Hoosiers elected Superintendent Glenda Ritz to be the leader in K-12 education in Indiana.
- Superintendent Ritz' overwhelming victory was the result of a clear message sent from voters who belong to both political parties.
- It is ironic that this board chose to make this maneuver just a few short days after our nation celebrated the anniversary of its independence from bureaucratic tyranny of its own.
- From the Governor's creation of the duplicate education agency, the CECI (which is costing Hoosier taxpayers' $14 million, money that could have been used to help children in classrooms) -- to the state board's continued attacks on Superintendent Ritz and the Department of Education at monthly meetings. The assault on Superintendent Ritz and the Department of Education has been persistent and disrespectful.
Take Action x 3! (1) Contact the Governor. Remind him that Superintendent Ritz won the election by landslide margins-with bi-partisan support-- because Hoosier voters had grown tired of politics interfering with our Constitutional responsibility to educate Hoosier children.
Phone: 317-232-4567 or Email: http://www.in.gov/gov/2333.htm (2) Contact your legislators (House and Senate). Tell them that you will not stand by and watch Glenda's authority diminished by non-elected bureaucrat appointees and that you know that they can and should step in to preserve her authority, legislatively, if need be. - The voters of Indiana overwhelmingly chose a different direction for K-12 education-one to be led by Superintendent Ritz.
- Elections have consequences as does the persistent disregard of voter sentiment.
- Indiana, as a "red" state, chose Superintendent Ritz because the vast majority of its voters were tired of politics as usual.
- This whole deal smacks of Washington insiders ignoring their electorate.
Click here to find your legislator: https://capwiz.com/nea/in/home/ (3) Contact your local school board members. Be positive in your message. Make sure the school board members understand what is at stake. Help your local school board members connect the dots so that they understand that continuing along this state board path diminishes their authority, too. Don't know your local school board? Click here. If you'd like to go in person, the SBOE meeting is:
Wednesday, July 9, starting at 9 a.m.
Indiana State Government Center South Conference Room B 402 W. Washington Street Indianapolis The proceedings will be live streamed. For a copy of the agenda, click here. You can also get updates during the meeting by following @EducateIN on Twitter. | 
