Message from Teresa Meredith

Since her stunning election last November, ISTA has witnessed a growing and rarely subtle display of disrespect for Glenda Ritz' authority as Indiana's duly-elected Chief State School Officer from the governor-appointed members of the State Board of Education--the board that she is by law called upon to chair.

Those who have been around state government for decades have never witnessed anything quite like the "group dismissiveness" that she has faced from the balance of the appointed board--those who should have "gotten over it" a long time ago and become her colleagues in Indiana's education policy-making.

ISTA has watched Glenda Ritz be a model of patience and professionalism while trying to fulfill her twin roles as State Superintendent of Public Instruction and statutory chairperson of the State Board of Education.

You name it, she's faced it: Springing surprise resolutions at board meetings diminishing her authority, creating "shadow" policy-making committees chaired by someone other than her with calculated odds stacked against her, wasting taxpayer resources to essentially duplicate the work of the DOE by hiring lawyers, special assistants, and executive directors, being told with a straight face that blatantly Republican members of the board are independent, and inheriting an A-F school accountability system that needed to be overhauled from the ground up.

And so now, faced with yet another bit of "medicine" meted out by this board with which she's been dealt, while she was out of the country on business no less, Glenda responded--leveraging the very laws that she swore to uphold. And, yes, now, people are watching.....and supporting her all over again.

It is hoped that her action will better encourage and ultimately lead to increased transparency in government and education policy-making...and it is further hoped that the balance of Indiana's state board might take a moment to exhale and resolve to try to work with Glenda. Doubtful as that may be, wouldn't it be a mighty nice example of adult behavior modeling by which Hoosier children might benefit?

And yes, now, people are watching...and supporting her all over again.

-Teresa Meredith, ISTA President

Ritz Files Suit Against State BOE

Status Update
By Indiana State Teachers Association
October 22, 2013

Contact: Daniel Altman
daltman@doe.in.gov
Office: (317) 232-0550
Cell: (317) 650-8698

INDIANA SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION GLENDA RITZ FILES SUIT AGAINST GOVERNOR PENCE’S STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

INDIANAPOLIS – In response to apparent violations of the Open Door Law by members of the State Board of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz filed suit today naming ten members of the Board as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that the named members of the State Board violated Indiana’s Open Door Law by taking action in secret by drafting, or directing the drafting of, a letter they sent to President Pro Tempore Long and Speaker Bosma dated October 16, 2013. The suit seeks to prevent the State Board of Education from continued violations of the Open Door Law and declaratory relief.

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that ten members of the State Board violated Indiana’s Open Door Law when they took action by requesting that Senator Long and Speaker Bosma appoint Indiana’s Legislative Services Agency to perform calculations to determine the 2012-2013 A-F grades for Indiana schools. The suit alleges that no public notice was issued for a meeting that allowed for this action and that Superintendent Ritz was not made aware of this action until after it was taken, despite her role as Chair of the State Board of Education.

“When I was sworn in to office, I took an oath to uphold the laws of the State of Indiana,” said Superintendent Ritz. “I take this oath very seriously and I was dismayed to learn that other members of the State Board have not complied with the requirements of the law. While I respect the commitment and expertise of members of the board individually, I feel they have over-stepped their bounds.

“Since my inauguration, I have worked tirelessly to communicate openly with the Board and the public. I do not take this action lightly, but my obligations as elected state Superintendent require it. I look forward to continuing to work to improve education for all Indiana students in a fair, transparent and collaborative manner.”

The suit is Ritz v. Elsener, et al and it has been filed in the Marion Circuit Court. The cause number is 49C01-1310-PL-038953. The Department of Education is using in-house counsel to avoid any additional costs to the state.

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Course Change on Annuity Accounts

October 21, 2013

Dear ISTA Members,

We want you to know that today's meeting of the Pension Management and Oversight Commission (PMOC) went well. Much of what happened today is the direct response to your thoughtful communications with members of the Commission.

Today, PMOC members sent a unanimous message about the direction it supports - not to privatize this annuity work but, instead, to find a better balance between what INPRS believes it needs and the needs of its members.

Today's motion from the Commission's final report reads:

1. The Commission considered the four proposals considered by the INPRS Board regarding the issuance of annuities to retirees for their ASAs.
2. The Commission recommends that INPRS pursue an option that would keep the annuitization of ASAs in-house and to not proceed with a 3rd party contract. Instead INPRS should periodically establish an interest rate that will not create an unfunded liability in their managed funds.
3. The Commission recommends the General Assembly not set a statutory interest rate at this time.
4. The Commission recommends that the date to undertake these activities occur not earlier than October 1, 2014.

Basically, the recommendation calls for NO PRIVATIZATION and that INPRS continue to annuitize in-house in a way that will not create an imbalance between what INPRS promises and what it can earn in investments.

This is a "non-binding" recommendation, but carries weight inasmuch as PMOC oversees the work of INPRS. INPRS will meet this Friday and it is hoped that INPRS will take new action to reflect PMOC's recommendations.

The reason for the Oct. 1, 2014 implementation date is to ensure that school employees interested in retiring next summer can do so under the current retirement system.

ISTA will continue to work to make positive impacts on behalf of members. Please stay tuned. We will keep you informed.

Please take time to thank Sen. Karen Tallian for her leadership on this issue and for offering her motion. Also, take time to thank the other legislative members of PMOC for voting for it.

Chairperson: Sen. Phil Boots (R-Crawfordsville): s23@in.gov
Sen. Gregory Walker (R-Columbus); s41@in.gov
Sen. Karen Tallian (D-Portage); s4@in.gov
Sen. Lindel Hume (D-Princeton); s48@in.gov
Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton); h28@in.gov
Rep. Woody Burton (R-Whiteland); h58@in.gov
Rep. Chuck Moseley (D-Portage); h10@in.gov
Rep. David Niezgodski (D-South Bend); h7@in.gov

ISTA knows this is a high-interest topic and will continue to hold its retirement workshops around the state as originally scheduled.

A Fall Message to Members

ISTA's Teresa Meredith message to members...

Questions for Teresa: 1-800-382-4037

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September 12, 2013 Meeting

ISTA-Retired Allen County Chapter meeting. Sept. 12, 2013, at 12:00 Noon.

Chops Steak and Seafood
6421 W. Jefferson St.
Ft. Wayne, IN

The ISTA-Retired Allen County Chapter will meet on Sept. 12, 2013, at noon, at Chops Steak and Seafood Restaurant on 6421 W. Jefferson St., Ft. Wayne, IN. Our featured speaker will be Monica Miller, a local author. Eric Pulley, from Big Brothers Big Sisters NE IN., will make a short presentation. We will have updates on what is happening with FWEA and Education in Indiana.

We will be collecting school/teacher supplies for college students who are members of ISEA (Indiana Student Education Association) which is the student membership category of ISTA. The students greatly appreciate all the supplies they are given. Any items you can donate will be welcomed. Thanks for your help. :)

Please RSVP by Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013. We hope to see you all on Thurs., Sept. 12th. Spouses and/ or friends are invited to attend.

Pence, Elsener Move to Take Power From Ritz

From ISTA...

Once again, the Indiana State Board of Education (SBE), consistent with its past experience, flouts rules, transparency, meaningful debate, and process in its latest power grab targeted against Glenda Ritz, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

At today's SBE meeting, member Dan Elsener presented an action item in the form of a resolution, without prior notification to Superintendent Ritz, who chairs the SBE, and without properly placing his resolution on the agenda for the committee's and, more importantly, the public's benefit and future input.

Elsener's resolution calls for him to chair a SBE-controlled committee involving more outside consultants and taxpayer spending to develop Indiana goals-something that the current Department of Education could and should accomplish by way of making recommendations to the SBE.

"Unfortunately, this kind of presumptuousness has become common practice with this and the prior administration's state board of education," said ISTA President Teresa Meredith.

At today's meeting, in the wake of Superintendent Ritz mentioning the need for compliance with Indiana's Open Door laws, a board member seconded Elsener's motion and the board passed the resolution without any substantive debate nor objection except for Ritz' clear abstention.

ISTA encourages its members to contact Gov. Mike Pence and ask him to remind the people he has appointed to the State Board of Education to respect process, transparency and Superintendent Ritz, the elected official who chairs the State Board.

But wait . . . there's more . . .

It appears as though there are no bounds to the State Board of Education and the Governor's march to power-over and over-power Indiana's duly-elected state superintendent of public instruction, Glenda Ritz.

Today's lengthy SBE meeting began and ended with twin power grabs targeted squarely at Ritz.

The first resolution offered by member Dan Elsener called for him to chair a new committee that is tasked with setting the goals for Indiana's education system-something that has always been within the purview of the State Superintendent's office-who also happens to be the lawful chairperson for the State Board of Education. The publicly-funded "Elsener Committee" will contract out with outside consultants, spending additional taxpayer dollars along the way to do the Department of Education's work. Elsener did not give Glenda Ritz, as chairperson, the courtesy of prior notice of his resolution and then called for action on the resolution even though it was not part of the meeting's agenda. Ritz suggested Open Door Law issues with this and then abstained from voting.

After over six hours of handling bona fide agenda items, the power grab continued with another resolution (again, with no prior notice to Ritz) indicating that the State Board of Education was hiring its own executive director, its own general counsel, and will use the Governor's new Special Assistant, charter school advocate Claire Fiddian-Green as its "technical advisor." Ritz was the sole opponent to this move.

"Both of these resolutions are thinly-disguised vehicles to wrest authority over public education policy-making from Indiana's duly-elected state superintendent and they not only disregard Glenda Ritz but the 1.3 million voters who supported her," said ISTA President Teresa Meredith.

"These attempts at discrediting, diminishing, and disrespecting Glenda Ritz and the agency she leads are partisan arrogance at the least and voter nullification at the worst," added Meredith.

ISTA Responds to Announcement of Governor Pence’s Creation of Education Agency

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 23, 2013
For more information, contact:
Kathleen Berry Graham
317 263 3321
kberry@ista-in.org

ISTA Responds to Announcement of Governor Pence’s

Creation of Education Agency

INDIANAPOLIS—In a surprise power grab today, Gov. Mike Pence released information that he has created a new agency called the Center for Education and Career Innovation (CECI).

Pence claims that the Center will improve collaboration among Indiana’s public, private and non-profit education and workforce partners by aligning education and career and workforce training efforts. The governor’s release states that: “The agency will proactively engage and collaborate with a number of valuable partners in state government including the Department of Education, the Indiana Charter School Board, the Department of Workforce Development, the Commission for Higher Education and the Office of State-Based Initiatives. The Indiana Career Council, the Indiana Works Councils, the Education Roundtable and the State Board of Education, though functioning independently, will exist as part of the new agency.” Yet the Indiana Department of Education was not contacted by the governor about creation of the agency even though the agency appears to be absorbing various functions of the IDOE and thereby reducing the authority of newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Glenda Ritz.

Following Pence’s announcement, a news release from the IDOE said: “Partnerships require communication. Unfortunately, Superintendent Ritz learned about the creation of this new agency—the impact on taxpayers yet unknown—through news reports, rather than from Gov. Pence. Superintendent Ritz has met with the governor on many occasions, including as recently as two days ago. However, neither he, nor his office, mentioned the creation of this new agency until this morning.”

“Like Superintendent Ritz, ISTA was dismayed by the announcement of this agency today,” said ISTA President Teresa Meredith. “We already have in place a Department of Education that works. ISTA is disappointed that the governor would choose to disregard the input of Superintendent Ritz and thousands of public school professionals.

“We are all in this together. Last November many of our members and the voters of the state voted for a change in direction for education and 1.3 million Hoosiers said that they trusted Glenda Ritz to run the Department of Education,” said Meredith. “And while teachers are always aware of the lessons they model for children, evidently some governors and their political appointees are not.”

For the full release from Gov. Pence’s office, go to:
http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=121572&information_id=187047&type=&rss=rss

For the full release from Superintendent Ritz, go to:
http://www.doe.in.gov/news/statement-indiana-department-education-response-governor-pence’s-announcement

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