​We lost a champion for public education recently. 

We lost a leader and a friend.

When I first met Phyllis Bush, it was actually through Facebook. I was new to the fight for public schools and the "reforms" going on in Indiana. Tony Bennett was our state superintendent then and the golden boy for ALEC and privatization. Mitch Daniels was his right-hand man in those efforts.  I had recently become the chair of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education of Monroe County and she was one of the cofounders of a public education advocacy group in Fort Wayne: the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education. 

Phyllis and I shared information and ideas as we were quickly drawn into the efforts to boot out Supt. Tony Bennett and elect Glenda Ritz--hoping to change direction for public education. While we and other public ed advocates across the state (teachers, parents, community members) were successful in getting Glenda elected in 2012, change did not happen the way we hoped. We are in the fight for public education to this day. 

Over the years, people from our groups--along with a host of others--testified at state board meetings, education committee hearings, and rallies at the statehouse. We wrote letters, held forums and bounced ideas off of one another. Through Phyllis' organizing of midwest meetings and, later, her work on the board of Diane Ravitch's Network for Public Education (a national group), I have met the most amazing, most inspiring, public education advocates and people.

We had to vent, had to share frustrations—ours is a fight of great importance, but against the odds. We face a state legislature that holds the purse strings and controls policy but is unmovable through gerrymandering. We are trying to mobilize a citizenry that, regardless of political party, doesn't seem to connect the dots between the importance of public education, what goes on in the classroom, and the actions at the statehouse. Our camaraderie was really a support group for many of us. 

​Of course, we didn't just complain on Facebook or on the phone with one another. We worked on action steps. Phyllis was all about action. It's hard for me to imagine that she's not going to reach out to me ever again with, "I have another semi-brilliant idea." She inspired me, whenever I felt defeated, to get back up again and go forward. 

What fuels me and what I believe fueled Phyllis, is outrage. I can't count how many times I've heard her refer to it as being in a state of  "pissment."

I have a t-shirt Phyllis bought for me that says, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." That's what this fight is all about: waking people up to the issues, helping them pay close attention and then, most importantly, empowering them to act. 

Empowerment is what I got from Phyllis. It wasn't simply that she was a leader. She made me and so many other people believe in our own leadership abilities. She helped us be leaders in our own right. 

I am heartsick to not have Phyllis by my side in this continued fight for public education and our democracy. I will miss her encouragement and support terribly. But I know that we must not throw in the towel. When you think about Phyllis, when you think about the people who have gone before us, who have worked for integration, worked for a vibrant system of education and for the fulfillment of the promise of public education until their last breath, you know that we must continue. Join the Network for Public Education, join your local public education advocacy group, start one of your own, but get out there and fight--with love and "pissment" propelling you forward. 

The Senate Appropriations K-12 Funding Subcommittee will meet Thursday starting some time between 10 a.m. and afternoon. They will consider HB-1001, the State Budget bill. Here's what it could do to public schools:

• It would make the cap on the scholarship granting organization (SGO) scholarship tax credit even higher than it is now - making it easier to drain more students from public schools and taking away more of the tax revenue that pays for school funding, while giving more tax relief to the wealthy.

• It would put a permanent increase in the SGO cap of 120% of the previous year. Are public schools getting a permanent increase of 20% in funding each year? NO, THEY ARE NOT. Why should that cap (used primarily by the wealthy) be allowed to grow that much each year?

• It would reduce the Complexity Index by 14%. That's the index that gives more money to districts with a high proportion of low-income children. These children are more complex to educate and need more support services. Do we think it's a good idea to reduce that? (See more below.)

• It increases the total Tuition Support by 2.2% in FY2019 and 2.2% in FY2020. While it's nice to get more money, IT'S NOT ENOUGH!

• It creates a new category of Choice Scholarships (code word for vouchers). I know we said this above, but it drains more students from public schools and diverts more of YOUR TAX money to private and religious schools.

Here's what ICPE board member and former school superintendent Dr. Tony Lux has to say about reducing the complexity index:

Reducing the Complexity Index by 14% is outrageous! The Complexity Index was reduced back in 2014 and redistributed primarily to wealthy suburban school systems. Now they want to reduce it again at a time when 54% of school systems have declining enrollments (and therefore reduced funding) and where the Complexity Index is the one element of the funding formula that provides some stability. The Complexity Index is a means to actually assist declining enrollment urban and rural school systems so they could provide teacher salary increases!

Even though legislators may argue that all school systems will see reduction in Complexity Index funding, the declining enrollment school systems - primarily urban and rural - will get a double hit as they lose enrollment funds and then lose even more funds for the neediest students they still serve!!!  In the meantime, growing suburban schools systems actually get a bonus: on top of their additional student count, they get the money originally intended for the neediest kids thrown into foundation funding!! 

It is robbing the poor to help the wealthy!

Rich vs. Poor - Don't Fall for the Trick

This is what anti-public school forces like to do. They want to divide us. Policies that put suburban schools against urban and rural schools are destructive all around. The budget should be fair to ALL public schools. Stand together!   

Senate Appropriations K-12 Funding Subcommittee

Email or call these committee members - and your own Senator before Thursday.
 
Senator Eric Bassler
Sen. Liz Brown
Sen. Ed Charbonneau
Sen. Jeff Raatz
Sen. Karen Tallian
Sen. Greg Taylor

If you like, copy and paste these addresses into the "to" field of your email.
 
Senator.Bassler@iga.in.gov; Senator.Brown@iga.in.gov;
Senator.Charbonneau@iga.in.gov; Senator.Raatz@iga.in.gov;
s4@iga.in.gov; s33@iga.in.gov