Ever since Governor Mike Pence was elected in 2012, he has steadily chipped away at the power of Glenda Ritz, the state commissioner of education who was also elected in 2012 but on the Democratic line. In this solid red state, Ritz got more votes than Pence.
Ritz is an experienced educator, and she has worked to improve public schools and the teaching profession, whereas the Governor and Legislature prefer to gut both of them.
Pence created an alternate education agency to take away Ritz’s authority. Now he has a plan to finally crush her office altogether.
According to the Indiana Economic Digest, citing an editorial in the Tribune-Star:
“Power wins.
“Unless some virtuous political maverick at the top levels of Indiana government appears this winter, the dynasty running Hoosier government will finally complete its two-year-long crusade to wither its last obstacle to full dominance. Gov. Mike Pence announced the check-mate move Thursday as he laid out his goals for the upcoming session of the General Assembly.
“The governor wants legislators to give the Indiana State Board of Education members the power to pick their own chairperson. Under existing Indiana law, the state superintendent of public instruction automatically serves as the board’s chairperson. In other words, the voters decide who chairs the Board of Education. In 2012, they emphatically chose Glenda Ritz, a school-teacher Democrat, as their state superintendent over Republican school-reform star Tony Bennett. The defeat galled Republicans. They never accepted the people’s choice.
“So, with every tool possible, they’ve relentlessly circumvented Ritz, usurping the authority attached to her job. Republican legislators suddenly embraced an idea tossed around for decades — making the superintendent a governor-appointed position, rather than an elected one. With the GOP holding super majorities in the state Senate and House, the only thing preventing it from following through with that tactic was its blatantly obvious political motivation.
“Pence’s proposal injects a new twist. Instead of ousting Ritz, the change drains a huge amount of her remaining power. The other 10 members of the Board of Education — all appointed by Republican governors — would select their chairperson to set the agenda for education policy in Indiana. Ritz would be reduced to just another member, because the others would certainly not choose her.
“Disappointingly, the Republican leaders of the Legislature endorsed Pence’s plan last week. House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem David Long expressed their frustration with the embarrassing dysfunction between the governor’s board and Ritz, calling it a “sideshow” and framing Pence’s proposal as a solution. Ritz is not the problem. The problem is the power party’s refusal to tolerate a rejection of their ballyhooed education reforms by the same voters who simultaneously approved of the Republicans’ efforts in other aspects of governing.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
So if TFAers are “ineffective”, does TFA lose funding? What about TNTP?
“The problem is the power party’s refusal to tolerate a rejection of their ballyhooed education reforms by the same voters who simultaneously approved of the Republicans’ efforts in other aspects of governing.”
This is what happens in Democratic Republics. People get what they vote for, so it looks like they voted for dysfunction. You know, it seems more likely each day that Jonathan Gruber may actually be right about American voters.
But they didn’t vote for dysfunction. They voted for a politician for governor and an educator for Superintendent. It seems like that’s an important message being lost.
I live in Indiana and have tired to get my school board involved in fighting this absurdity. So far although they have evinced disagreement with Tony Bennett and charter schools they have done nothing to fight against that kind of depravity in Indiana. Tony Lux, retired superintendent of a local high school has spoken out vigorously and has, the last I knew, a lawsuit against that state board of noneducation but sadly too few speak out against it. They, the legislators, have taken away most rights of the teacher’s unions. Reprehensible but until people demand change – and I am NOT holding my breath until it happens this will get worse and worse.
Could current and retire Superintendents be contacted to sign an open letter?
This is beyond infuriating. I’m really starting to hate these people.
As a native Hoosier I am appalled at what Pence and his stooges are doing to democracy in the state.
So if they are going to run the state like a monarchy, they should change the title to “King” instead of governor.
They’re working on that.
Sorry, this was meant to be a reply to drext727.
Dr. Ravitch, this post is infuriating but I am so grateful that you are exposing these manipulative political shenanigans which circumvent the will of the people. Your illuminating posts have powerfully impacted similar situations for the better. May your efforts prevail in this case, too.
I think it bears repeating (although I feel like I’ve posted it here countless times):
Glenda Ritz is a registered Republican. She switched party affiliation to run against Tony Bennett in 2012. This fact was so well hidden that I didn’t find out about it until right on election day (and I thought I was keeping close tabs on everything I could find out). Glenda Ritz did not even caucus with the Democrats before the election.
I found out this fall that the grassroots effort was so thorough that one of the Republican legislators even got a political postcard from a Ritz supporter in the weeks leading up to the election. “We will probably lose this race,” he supposedly told his GOP colleagues.
It became obvious to everyone (except for those Bennett’s rock-ribbed supporters or the sightless few who voted straight “R”) that many people switched parties on this one office because Bennett’s extreme brand of reform (rollback of collective bargaining, expanded vouchers, opening up of charter authorizers, reduction in teacher professionalism, increased teacher accountability) had no basis in reality, even for people of Bennett’s own party. It was an agenda pushed by outside forces who had no legal vote in the Hoosier State, so they used Bennett to advance their agenda.
For Bennett to lose a GOP office in crimson-red Indiana (as Bennett did), there had to be something seriously wrong with his campaign, his positions, his message, his personality, or just HIM…the whole package was just dead wrong. And so irredeemably wrong…(I listened to him in live speeches twice).
In a post last week here, someone pointed out an Indianapolis Star article about Bennett having second thoughts about his tenure as the Supe in Indiana (hurry before it disappears behind an archived paywall):
(http://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/columnists/tim-swarens/2014/11/20/swarens-bleep-candidate-humbled-tony-bennett-admits/19297261/). Bennett said “I was a $#!++-y candidate.”
You stay classy, Dr. Bennett!
Bennett is still being tone deaf. It’s not his “messaging” that’s “shi–y”, it’s his *message*. He doesn’t need to work on saying it better, he needs to work on shutting up.
Most of the reader comments to that article said exactly the same as you did. Bennett’s regrets had nothing to do with “I was wrong, and my message was wrong.” Instead, it came off as “I had the right idea all along but I did not deliver it effectively.”
I think Bennett needs to work on disappearing. He and his ideas are not longer welcome in Indiana, and he would be a political liability to anybody who signed him on.
I hope his microphone and pulpit are taken away forever.
If this is good enough to be passed, here is another great idea. Let’s just have the president appoint a new governor.
Mike Pence & the Indiana Legislature take their matching orders from Witchita. Hoosiers should decide if they want their state run by wealthy oligarchs from outside our state or if they want their legislators to work for us.
You nailed it! Governor(soon to be King) Empty Suit and Indiana GOP legislators (aka neo-fascists) are brazenly feeding from the sugar teat provided by “those pesky billionaire brothers” and returning payment in kind. I’ll refrain from using their names just as Paul, George and Ringo chose to never use the name of John’s assassin.
As for change coming in Indiana, sadly I just don’t see it coming. The electorate is for the most part impoverished, uninformed and gullible. Recent voter turnouts in the mid-terms in Indiana were the lowest in the nation and in Indiana history. So very sad…
Having spent my life in Indiana, I have never been more ashamed of and more frightened of the current state of affairs in the Hoosier state. The wholesale decimation of public education including the total usurping of an elected official’s authority, the intolerance of the exchange of ideas, the rampant xenophobia, and the decrease between the separation of church and state has become stifling here.
And all the while the the Rip Van Winkle mindset is carefully fostered, manipulated, and groomed to serve those who serve “the pesky billionaire brothers.” Stay asleep Indiana. It’s better than being awake.
I hope that Hoosiers who voted for Glenda Ritz speak their mind to their State Legislators. The res of the nation needs to take notice; this could happen in any of our states It is scary how democracy is being overrode.
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/24552-the-ultra-right-wing-state-nobody-mentions?tmpl=component&print=1
This really addresses this kind of abuse spot on!
Every teacher in Indiana should be on his doorstep tomorrow at 5 AM. Maybe he needs to be reminded that he is taking our votes away!
Wouldn’t matter! State police would be there just like when union members were picketing Bosma’s house when Right-to-Work was a hot button issue. It’s protection for the elite on the voter’s dimes. These people are truly convinced that they are anointed, enlightened and untouchable. Sadly only untouchable is applicable in this case…
This man is attacking an incumbent for political reason. Pure and simple. Pence doesn’t like her because she’s a democrat. And he surely is not the one who is willing to listen to the voices of parents, students, and teachers.
The entire incident will unfold, if Gov. Pence enters the national stage for 2016. He will be sorry how this will play out.
I don’t know how anybody (Pence or Bennett included) thinks they can hide all their misdeeds in the 21st century. Every word, written or spoken, is there on video, blogs, tweets, facebook pages, or inside e-mails.
And just how does he think he can win the White House if he completely flushes away all the teacher votes?
The press will mulch him.
…and mulch is a worthwhile use of waste products.
Based upon results of the mid-term elections, I don’t think the voting public gives a damn about any previous misdeeds of GOP candidates/politicians. The party-line will be to tie every Democrat to Obamacare and the ire of the generally gullible and sleeping public will drink the Kool-aid and then poof! The whole outhouse will be up in flames and it will be too late.