Within the boundaries of the old city limits (aka the IPS area), Indianapolis hasn’t had neighborhood schools since the early 1970s. With a few exceptions, the ravages of intra-district and cross-district busing destroyed many neighborhood schools.
Today, many IPS schools bus kids in from miles away from a school’s immediate neighborhood.
In the townships, similar issues exist with kids bused to schools from apartment complexes and housing developments that lack any sense of neighborhood cohesion.
So here comes Mayor Greg Ballard announcing plans to tie neighborhood redevelopment with improving school quality.
In a Sunday Star story, Ballard’s propaganda machine proclaimed his newfound love and vision of education. The Star story used the charter schools in the Meadows neighborhood as an example of Ballard’s new education jones.
(As usual, Ballard’s propagandists ignored Black media, even though 94.7 percent of the students in those charters are Black).
Ballard’s plan is simply a reworked version of Deputy Mayor of Education Jason Kloth’s flawed, and dismissed by Black folks, Neighborhoods of Educational Opportunity (NEO) plan.
Reading the cue cards prepared by his misinformation specialists, the mayor told the Star that creating so called “high quality” charter schools is an instrument of neighborhood revitalization. But Ballard’s assumption is flawed.
Ballard’s thinks three quality charters (Tindley, Challenge Foundation and KIPP) revitalizes the Meadows. But of the 1,321 students attending those schools, I dare say the majority don’t live in the Meadows neighborhood.
Meanwhile, Ballard plans to add two new Christel House charters in the old Central State Hospital site. And spend $4 million in taxpayer cash on a soccer field, run by Indy Parks, for Christel House’s use.
Scores of city/county parks near schools are in deplorable condition. But Ballard, like Tony Bennett, wants to shower Christel House with love, while ignoring his other charter schools!
Mayor Ballard is not serious about education. His new plan is just a campaign gimmick. Nothing more; nothing less.
Speaking of education; why didn’t our mayor attend last week’s announcement of the creation of the Desmond Tutu Center at Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary?
Named after the famed Nobel Peace Prize winner and fighter for human rights and freedom, it’s the first such center in North America.
It’s an event the mayor himself should have attended. If not by his presence, then through a public statement about the center’s creation.
What I’m hearing in the streets
Republicans always brag about their efforts at diversity, so here’s the latest example where their rhetoric doesn’t match reality.
Gov. Mike Pence, Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President David Long created a committee of educators and experts to reform Indiana’s tainted A-F school accountability system.
After they released the names of their four appointees, I asked what their racial and ethnic diversity was.
Superintendent Ritz’ office said she appointed an African-American, Cheryl Ramsey, principal of Beveridge Elementary in Gary, as one of her appointees.
Gov. Pence’s office said he picked Rob Lugo, the Hispanic principal of Warren Township’s Stonybrook Intermediate School as one of his.
But, Sen. Long and Speaker Bosma’s offices flatly refused to reveal the race/ethnicity of their appointees. Probably because they were all white non-Hispanics.
Of the 16 committee members, just two minorities?
Even though Indiana’s Republican governor could find diversity, GOP legislative leaders couldn’t and didn’t even try.
So much for Republican claims of trying to be more diverse.
Speaking of education, at September’s State Board of Education meeting, it seems Dan Elsener went out of his way to try and emasculate Superintendent Ritz.
Elsener, whose day job is president of Marian University, represents the 7th Congressional District on the board.
Last week, the Times of Northwest Indiana newspaper reported that Elsener, who was appointed to the board in 2005 by former Gov. Mitch Daniels as an “independent,” may not be just that.
The newspaper reported Elsener has voted in Republican primaries since 1994. All his political contributions since 2001 have been to GOP candidates.
That doesn’t sound all that independent to me.
The State Board of Education is supposed to have no more than six of its 10 members representing one political party. But with alleged independents like Elsener that’s not likely.
Elsener supposedly “represents” the most racially diverse congressional district in the state and one of the only two consistently Democratic districts.
I’ve invited Elsener by e-mail to an interview to tell our community and those living in the area he “represents” what the State Board of Education is doing. I know he received and read my e-mail invitation, but has yet to reply.
* * * * *
The more information that comes out about the debacle with the Regional Operations Center (ROC), the more it cries out for a criminal investigation.
The ROC is the boondoggle engineered by former Public Safety Director Frank Straub at the old Eastgate Mall. The facility was never set up right from jump street, with alleged safety and code violations.
Worse, the city’s lease with the ROC’s landlord puts all responsibility on the tenant (city) and none on the landlord.
Last week, Public Safety Director Troy Riggs ordered everyone out of the ROC for safety reasons. The landlord struck back saying he’s suing the city for contract breach.
The ROC debacle is another example of the sloppiness and inattention to detail of the Ballard administration. And its gonna cost hundreds of thousands of your money to get out of the mess.
* * * * *
The folks at WISH-TV/Channel 8 all had a message for our community. They want to hear from you.
On our WTLC-AM (1310) “Afternoons with Amos” program last week, the folks at Channel 8 and MyIndyTV/Channel 23 stressed that they want to hear from viewers with story ideas.
Questioned whether IPS athletics are covered, Channel 8’s sports director Anthony Calhoun emphatically said “Yes,” they’re included. Our program from Channels 8 and 23 continued the message from the city’s TV stations that they want feedback and response from our African-American community.
See ‘ya next week.
You can email comments to Amos Brown at acbrown@aol.com.
