Supporters rally for Superintendent Ritz, public education
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- Published: Tuesday, 17 February 2015 01:41
INDIANPOLIS – More than 1,000 teachers and supporters of public schools had already been rallying for well over an hour Monday (Feb. 16) when the woman they’d been fighting for made an appearance.
“I am an educator,” state Superintendent Glenda Ritz told the crowd gathered in the Statehouse atrium. “I know what we need in our schools.”
Ritz spoke as one floor above the rally, a state senator chose not to call a bill for a vote that would demote her as chair of the Indiana State Board of Education. That bill could pass the Senate, though, as soon as Tuesday.
“Stop the assault on public education,” Marilyn Shank, the rally organizer, said. “There are lots of bills out there that are harmful on education.”
Rally supporters said that they want their voices to be heard and say they are infuriated by legislation to strip Ritz of her power. Ritz unseated then-Superintendent Tony Bennett in the 2012 election by gaining 1.3 million votes – more than any other statewide candidate that year.
But others said that the gridlock comes from confusion about who is in charge of education policy making. Shank said that there needs to be a more clear definition about what jobs are designated to the board.
“That’s what the fights are about, ‘Who’s in charge?,’ Shank said. “We to get that settled so we don’t have the dysfunction.”
Lawmakers said that the dysfunction is so great that changes need to be made immediately to prevent more problems.
Article writer Andi TenBarge is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.