HAMMOND — Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. is largely putting the blame on state Republican leaders for the closures of Kenwood, Lew Wallace and Morton elementary schools.
During an impromptu press conference on Facebook Live on Wednesday, McDermott criticized state politicians for establishing property tax caps and having school districts rely on referendums for funding, attributing their policy decisions towards contributing to the decision by the Hammond School Board to close the three schools on Tuesday night.
"This state doesn't value public education," McDermott said.
The mayor also said he believes private school vouchers and charter schools threaten traditional public schools, while also boasting of his involvement in helping start up a charter school in the city — the Hammond Academy of Science and Technology.
However McDermott did acknowledge the 6-12th grade charter school does take away approximately 550 students from the School City of Hammond.
The mayor also said residents had a choice in avoiding school closures and employee layoffs by supporting the renewal of the school district's operating referendum last November, but there wasn't an appetite in the community to pass it. The referendum was defeated with over 70% of voters opposing it.
"I knew on the day that referendum failed, this day was going to come," McDermott said. "And the schools are getting shut down and people are pissed."
He stressed the fact he had no power over the school district, saying his office had been flooded with phone calls earlier in the day from angry residents, demanding he intervene in the issue.
McDermott also expressed support for Hammond schools Superintendent Scott Miller, while stating his embarrassment over the breakdown of communication between the five Hammond School Board members.
"It's extremely concerning the level of dysfunction on that school board," McDermott said.
© Copyright 2024, nwitimes.com, Munster, IN