War continues to break out at the Indiana Department of Education.
Republicans have long controlled the department and the office of state superintendent, but last year Democrat Glenda Ritz defeated Republican Superintendent Tony Bennett, giving Democrats their first foot in the door of the department in many years. Bennett moved on to become the Florida school chief. However, it was not long before he resigned that seat in the face of allegations that he adjusted the scoring system for school accountability in Indiana before he left.
So now the state is conducting reviews of that accountability system created by Bennett, and how to change it.
And now comes news that a Democratic state representative is calling for Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence to review the makeup of the 10-member State Board of Education which can have only up to six members from one political party. That is according to the Associated Press, based on a news story by the Times of Munster. The board has a Republican majority.
The newspaper has reported that one member listed as an independent, Daniel Elsener, president of Marian University, voted in a Republican primary election nine out of 10 elections, and that he donated $10,575 to Republican candidates and business groups supporting Republicans.
Democratic Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh of Crown Point, told the newspaper it is a dereliction of duty by Pence to have a Republican serving in an independent’s slot. But Elsener told the Times he has voted for candidates from both parties.
Meanwhile, issues on the board continue to fester.
The board voted to appoint Elsener instead of Ritz to chair a strategic planning group which will establish education goals for the state. It would have been a key post for Ritz, in her first year on the board, to influence state education policy as she believes it should be, but the board moved forward with Elsener heading the group.
Have no doubt that these fights for control of state education policy have only just begun.