Governor Mike Pence just can’t get over the fact that challenger Glenda Ritz beat State Superintendent Tony Bennett, even though Bennett had a 10-1 spending advantage. Pence may be miffed because Ritz got more votes than he did. But her worst crime is that she does not share the governor’s nihilistic ideology of destroying public education. And for those reasons, the governor is determined to strip her office of its powers and thwart the will of the voters. Pence is at war not just with Glenda Ritz, but with democracy.
The following essay appeared in an Indiana newspaper. In a just world, Governor Pence’s undemocratic assault on Superintendent Ritz would be stopped by the courts.
“Indiana Gov. Mike Pence seems to have thrown transparency and conservatism out the window just 10 months into office.
But I guess you have to do that when it comes to stripping Glenda Ritz of the powers entrusted to her by Hoosier voters.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Pence has been sniping at Ritz since the day she took office as the state superintendent of public instruction in January.
You see, Ritz, a Democrat, did the unthinkable by beating Republican schools boss Tony Bennett. He had attacked teacher unions and funneled education money into charter schools that essentially are owned and run by Republicans.
Since he didn’t want to look like the bad guy, Pence needed a vehicle to go after Ritz.
So, under the cover of darkness one muggy night in August, Pence created the Center for Education and Career Innovation.
He just did it. Poof. One day it was suddenly there. While most state agencies are created by the Legislature, this one was all Pence. Kind of like the magician who pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
The CECI provides support staff to the State Board of Education, which is appointed by the governor.
CECI’s prime mission in life appears to be to make Ritz wish she never had run for state superintendent.
And if you have doubts about what Pence wants to do to Ritz, consider what House Speaker Brian Bosma said last week.
Bosma suggested a long-standing law designating the superintendent as chairman of the State Board of Education may be headed for extinction by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
“We don’t want to take any actions that appear to be unfair to anyone, but we have to have a system that works as well,” Bosma said. “We’re doing what we can behind the scenes to try to calm everything down and bring people together, and if we have to be out in front, we’ll do that, too.”
The system worked well for decades. Now it doesn’t? Things were fine when Republican Sue Ellen Reed was superintendent and Democrats were in control.
Worse than the covert operation is what some of the 15 CECI staffers are being paid to help make life miserable for Ritz.
Claire Fiddian-Green, who heads the CECI, is being paid $120,000 a year.
That’s not exactly chump change. You could hire a few teachers with that kind of money.
If you are a bit bothered by what Fiddian-Green is being paid, consider that six of the 15 CECI staffers are being paid more than $100,000 annually.
It’s obvious that taking control of education in Indiana is pretty important to Pence and his Republican brethren. The cost – politically or financially – apparently doesn’t matter.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Public schools have been abandoned in Indiana in favor of charter schools, and that is not surprising considering Fiddian-Green’s background:
“Fiddian-Green will be responsible for implementing the Governor’s vision for K12 and higher education, including the development of the administration’s policy and legislative agenda. In that role, she will provide leadership to the State Board of Education, Education Roundtable, and Indiana Charter School Board.
Currently, she serves as the founding Executive Director of the Indiana Charter School Board (ICSB), a statewide charter school authorizing agency created during the 2011 legislative session. There, Fiddian-Green is responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and supervision of the ICSB’s operations, including its process for authorizing new charter schools, monitoring authorized schools and holding these schools accountable for performance. She previously served as President of The Mind Trust and Grants Officer for the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation.
Prior to her role at the Foundation, Fiddian-Green was employed by Eli Lilly and Company as a Senior Analyst in the company’s Corporate Finance Investment Banking group, where she focused on Licensing and Mergers & Acquisitions. ”
Why is an investment banker in charge of Indiana’s public schools?
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MONEY and POWER OVER…that is ALL he has. Empty suits are everywhere.
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Indiana, what a great state to live in. (I wonder which local newspaper had this article which truthfully exposes our reality.)
How interesting that we are nationally known, but not for very good reasons. (Pence is a Tea Partier governor and Congress is totally Republican dominated.)
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If a grassroots effort ousted Bennett (who was very heavy-handed in his treatment of teachers), then the same can be done with Pence.
Thanks to Bennett, former Governor Daniels (who called teachers “privileged elite”), Bosma, and Pence, I’ve changed my lifelong voting habits from Republican to Democrat unless…unless, one of the Republicans can come up with thoughtful ways to cut back on government spending without privatizing.
I have taught in Indiana public high schools for 29 years. Unfortunately, the last 4 years make it seem like my career has lasted much longer than that, and with every Republican in the statehouse targeting me as an enemy, it seems like it will be an eternity before I can retire.
You can bet that if there is anything written about Pence’s dirty dealings with education in Indiana, I’ll be all over him like a cheap suit and pass along the information to all my colleagues and friends of public education.
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Reblogged this on Carolina Mountain Blue and commented:
The more I read this, the more the question must be asked: why do Republicans hate representative democracy?
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They hate representative democracy because they are interested in serving the Koch brothers agenda via ALEC, not the voters who elected them to office.
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You are right on target. That man is more in dividing the spoils of this state than the well being of the citizenry.
“Gov. Mike Pence headlines as a keynote speaker for The American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) policy summit.” Dec 6 2013
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New motto “dispense with Pence”””
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