Sure Ed, You Are Still "Working On It"

Thank you Representative Ed Soliday, for picking up the phone and clarifying your position on the SSCA charter app specifically and for clarifying your position on charter schools in general.

Hoosier Voices discovered today that Valparaiso community advocates were able to make contact with Rep. Ed Soliday. These advocates stated that they had tried to talk with Soliday by phone and email since they first heard of the SSCA charter school hearing, but had not received a response from the Representative until they called his office in Indy today and spoke with his office assistant Luke.



From our sources in Valpo:

"ED SOLIDAY RESPONDS (sort of) 

Two weeks after the SSCA charter school matter became public and two weeks after members of our group reached out to Rep. Soliday's office for support, we finally heard from Soliday's through his legislative assisant Luke Wilson. Actually, Luke finally picked up the phone to take our call.

After much stammering we were informed that Rep. Soliday is "still working on a statement" and will respond to "individual constituents through direct mail" i.e. campaign literature.

So in short, while constituents from both parties organized, stood up and spoke out against the SSCA charter, our state represntative DID NOTHING.

Thanks Rep. Ed Soliday for being such a "good friend" of public education and Valpo Schools."

Hoosier Voices has not received a statement from Sen. Ed Charbonneau at the time this published.

50 Days To Come Together

I am writing this blog post for one purpose, to wake up all who support a common end goal to COME TOGETHER for the good of the cause and make it happen.  We have seen, through our #StandUpForPublicEducation campaign, that a common goal can be reached when in fighting and petty differences are put aside to reach the desired outcome.  I observed many community leaders, over the past weeks, taking a stand to defeat a proposed charter in Porter County.  There are forces across Indiana, similar to those in the Porter County area, who share common goals but have differing opinions on the means to reach the desired outcome.

In 2012 I started Hoosier Voices as a platform to promote PUBLIC education and those who support our PUBLIC schools and elected officials and candidates who feel the same.  Often times from the beginning of Hoosier Voices to now, I have seen forces with the same goal become distracted from reaching the goal because of petty arguments and differences in means to reach the same goal.  Once forces were joined, the grassroots campaigns became nearly unstoppable.  I saw this again this past week with the defeat and ultimate SSCA charter application withdrawal.  This is the direction we need to find across the state of Indiana.

We have 50 days to find our common ground once again, set our true outcome goals, set aside the petty differences and in fighting, and Stand Up For Public Education once and for all.  It is time all the collective forces across the state come together, as was done in 2012 for Glenda Ritz, to defeat all who stand in line to further destroy our PUBLIC schools through their reform minded legislation, charter school applications, false statements about our Department of Education, lack of support of educators, financial robbery for private benefit, and ill devised methods to discriminate against our neediest children.

Please, find the common ground necessary to stop the squabbling.  Stand up WITH one another and SUPPORT the ultimate goal of PUBLIC EDUCATION across the state.  Don't air your "dirty laundry" publicly to give others fuel to undermine the purpose we all seed to achieve in the end.  50 days is not much time to promote, support, and campaign to reach PUBLIC EDUCATION victories across the state.  Let us vow, today, to stand together to reach our common goals and show that we all #StandUpForPublicEducation.

#RememberInNovember: The Fab 5 State Legislators Bent On Destroying Public Schools, One 'A' District At A Time

Bosma, Charbonneau, Kruse, Soliday, and Behning:

The Fab 5 that made the Indiana charter school mess by authorizing Grace College

Written By: Hoosier Voices For Public Education Blogger

In 2002, the State of Indiana adopted the policy that established the charter school system. It wasn't until former Governor Mitch Daniels' second term of office that charter school legislation burgeoned, in great part due to the financial and political support of wealthy individuals like the Koch brothers, Klipsch, and the Waltons in addition the American Legislative Exchange Council PAC (aka: ALEC).

The initial intended purpose of the 2002 legislation was to address educational need in districts that were struggling with overall academic performance and graduation rates. Slow to grow over the course of those initial 6 years, the Daniels administration and Tony Bennett took it upon themselves to champion the so-called 'school reform' ideology which amped into high gear during the 2010 and 2011 legislative sessions with Indiana becoming known to have one of the most expansive school reform agendas administered into public policy in our country.

In the 'real' reality of today's educational climate, we have strayed significantly from the original intent and purpose of that 2002 charter authorizing legislation, as evidenced most recently through the South Shore Classical Academy (SSCA) charter school application for authorization through Grace College. SSCA purports to provide differentiated instruction not currently available in the local public schools by providing the Michigan based Hillsdale College model of "Classical Education". Not only does the evangelical private Christian school Grace College stand to financial gain from this charter, so does Hillsdale College which was established by Freewill Baptists and in its Mission touts Hillsdale students as being "Grateful to God for Inestimable Blessings".

This leads me to question "how did we ever get here"?  How did we get to the point where a charter school would need to situate itself strategically amongst 3 'A' ranked public schools with diverse school populations, excellent graduation rates, active and engaged parents and community, who have the will and disposition to 'self-fund' through the passage of school funding referenda? How did we get to the point where charter schools are actually glorified private religious schools being funded on the public's dime?

Even if I can't answer the 'how', there is one thing that I know I can answer and that is who brought this chaos to bear? It doesn't take much more than a quick google search to find the answer to that question. And interestingly enough, duplication is easy to find between the legislation that authorized charter school expansion and the list of Community Partners provided by SSCA in their application.

Here is a list of State Legislators listed in SSCA's application on the 'Evidence of Community Support' page, which you can view in full by clicking here.

• Senator Ed Charboneau, Valparaiso

• Representative Ed Soliday, Valparaiso

• Senator Dennis Kruse

• Senator Rick Niemeyer

• Representative Bill Fine

• Representative Tony Cook

• Representative Jim Lucas

• Representative Brian Bosma

• Representative Bob Behning

• Representative Peggy Mayfield

I am not certain if it is common practice for State Legislators to openly serve as 'Community Partners' with charter schools in organization and planning and development of the charter, but I do know there isn't anything more wrong with the process than politicians laying names to support charter applications. If this is going to become common practice with our State Legislators, then there truly is only one way to fix this problem and it requires going to the polls on election day and voting 'representatives' like this out of office. After all, with so-called 'Community Partners' like these, who needs enemies?

To fully understand who got us here, we also have to look at the 2011 'school reform' legislation, that allowed ideological religious institutions like Grace College to myopically approve charter applications while cloistered in secrecy with their Board of Trustees and Senior Administration deciding whether to collect the check or not.

Here is a link to the full HB 1002.

Here is a link to the roll call vote approving the measure in the House.

Here is a link to the roll call vote approving the measure in the Senate.

If you look closely, you will see that both Ed Charbonneau and Ed Soliday voted to APPROVE Grace College as a charter authorizer. These self-proclaimed 'supporters of education' literally laid the ground work for the SSCA charter to come in to Valpo today - their own community. 

You will also see that Dennis Kruse, the SSCA advisory board member, introduced this legislation in the Senate and voted for it while Brian Bosma introduced this legislation in the House and voted for it. One of our personal favorite legislators here at Hoosier Voices, Bob Behning also voted to give Grace authorizer status.

So there you have it: Charbonneau, Soliday, Kruse, Bosma, and Behning are the Fab 5 that created this mess in Porter County and across our Great State. 

Have you emailed the Fab 5? Have you let them know that while you aren't certain if they knew that this is where the 2011 charter expansion legislation would bear fruit, you do know that they created the mess and they need to fix it! Tell them that you expect them to PUBLICLY come out in opposition to this Charter School. Tell them that you expect them to put pressure on the Grace Board of Trustees to turn this charter application down. Furthermore, tell them that you expect them to go back to Indianapolis and fix this policy mess they have created. That is, IF they get reelected.

Porter County Community Leaders OPPOSED To The SSCA Charter School

One of the most impolitic parts of the SSCA application is the so-called "Evidence of Support from Community Partners" page, which you can find on the Grace College website under the section designated for SSCA in the 'attachments' located here. It reads as though the charter organizers combed through a list of prospective politicos that ALEC may want to buy and added those names to their application as community partners. In another post, we will feature these politicians along with highlights from their voting record: the link to that article will be posted here.

Through this process what we have found is that there are many local leaders, elected officials, and candidates for office that stand OPPOSED to this charter school. So, we decided to put together this "Evidence of Opposition from Community Partners" page to feature community leaders who are also advocates and supporters of public education. If you do not see your name on this list and would like to include your statement, please email Hoosier Voices at hoosiervoices@gmail.com. Please join us in sending a resounding 'thank  you' to these community leaders for their bold leadership and strong voice in support of public education.


We will continue to update this page as we collect more statement's of opposition to the SSCA charter.

Duneland School Corporation Superintendent, Dr. David Pruis

Valparaiso Community Schools Superintendent, Dr Ric Frataccia

To read Dr. Frataccia's statement of opposition available on the district website, click here.

Portage Township Schools 

The School Board passed a resolution of opposition on September 14, 2016 and Board Vice President Cheryl Oprisko attended the public hearing to read the resolution.

Valparaiso Community Schools

All 5 members of the Valparaiso School Board have expressed opposition to the SSCA charter school. At the September 15, 2016 Board meeting, the board unanimously agreed to draft a resolution of opposition.

Porter County Councilor, Sylvia Graham

"Porter County is blessed with 4 star schools that prepare our children for their futures. Three referendums have been passed by the people wanting to keep their school districts financed to maintain their quality standards.
Charter schools were to be used in areas where public schools were failing.
Again, no one has shown a need for this in Porter County. I believe those proposing this Charter school wants this charter to happen strictly because they want it. There is no proof that it is needed."

Porter County Councilor, Dan Whitten

To read Dan Whitten's statement of opposition on Facebook, click here.

Valparaiso City Councilor, Diana Reed

To read Diana Reed's statement of opposition on Facebook, click here.

Valparaiso City Councilor, Robert Cotton

To read Robert Cotton's statement of opposition on Facebook, click here. 

Valparaiso City Councilor, Deb Porter

To read Deb Porter's statement of opposition on Facebook, click here.

4th District State Representative Candidate, Pamela Fish

To read Pamela Fish's statement of opposition on Facebook, click here.

5th District State Senator Candidate, Jim Harper

To read Jim Harper's statement of opposition and watch the accompanying video on Facebook, click here.

Portage City Councilor, Collin Czilli

To read Collin Czilli's statement of opposition on Facebook, click here.

Mid-Term Grades: State Representative

Hoosier Mom's Public Education Grade Book

Spring 2013


It is that time in the legislative session when the Hoosier Mom must submit the mid-term grade card for our legislators. The grades are based on their support for public education as measured through their votes. 

The Hoosier Mom chose 5 bills as "tests" of our legislator's support for public education this session. Just like in school, legislators will earn points by passing the test and using their vote in support of public education. Just like in public school, legislators that chose to not take the test do not earn points: there is no make-up test. 


The 5 tests were:

HB 1003 - Voucher Program Expansion

HB 1334 - Singling Out Public School Employees & Freedom of Speech

HB1337 - Corporate Takeover of Schools Based On Fatally Flawed A-F Scale

HB1338 - Virtual Charter Expansion

HB 1357 - Deprofessionalization of School Administrators


There are many legislators who are failing to support public education. The Hoosier Mom suggests a voter takeover of these legislator's positions, especially if their grades do not improve over the course of the session. Accountability is the priority here: they must be held accountable to the voters.

Early intervention can also be important in changing a failing legislator's grades. Voters - please contact your failing legislators and provide early intervention services. They need direct remediation on the educational priorities for Hoosier children: the voters expect better from our legislators. This may require extra time on your part - services via phone calls, emails, visiting the statehouse, writing letters, etc. 

If we all work together, we can turn-around the grades of these failing legislators and re-direct their focus on providing a high-quality public education for all Hoosier children.

The gradebook is as follows:

Charters, and Vouchers, and Reform - Oh MY!

The Indiana House Education Committee strikes at Public Education again! Tomorrow, HB 1338 and HB 1003  are planned to receive a hearing in the House Chambers starting at 8:30am.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Please contact the House Education Committee members (emails listed below) in separate emails for the two bills, and tell them to vote NO. For more information on how to write to your legislators, click here.

  HB 1003: This is Rep. Behning's bill that would expand voucher eligibility to students who have NOT previously spent a year in public schools. It also would triple the home school and private school tax deduction to $3,000. 




HB 1338: Charter Schools are public schools by law yet this bill would take them from the Dept. of Ed for reporting, funding and facilities incentive purposes and put them under the Budget Agency.

§       Teachers, all teachers, should have content area requirements for licensure yet HB 1338 removes the requirement for already unlicensed charter school teacher to have training “in the content or related area in which the individual teaches.”

§       The bill provides that a virtual charter school would receive tuition support in the same way bricks & mortar charters do.

§       And if that isn’t enough, if the bill passes, virtual schools will receive funding for all students, even those never in public schools.  Home schools could receive tax money.

Contact those members of the House Education Committee who are likely to vote for this bill.  Do it ASAP.

Rep. Behning, Chair, h91@in.gov 

Rep. Rhoads, h70@in.gov

Rep. L. Arnold, h74@in.gov

Rep. Burton, h58@in.gov

Rep. Clere, h72@in.gov

Rep. DeVon, h5@in.gov

Rep. Huston, h37@in.gov

Rep. Lucas, h69@in.gov

Rep. Thompson, h28@in.gov

For HB 1003:  Express your opposition to voucher expansion AND share your views with your representative.

•       Ask them to vote NO on HB 1003.

For HB 1338:  Explain in your words how all teachers need to have training in content areas in which they teach.

§       Discuss how funding virtual school at 100% of tuition support impacts your school.

§       Explain that funding for students never in public schools (never part of the ADM) puts traditional public schools at risk of losing even more funding without losing students.

§       Ask them to vote NO on HB 1338.