Friday at 10:30 a.m. the Indiana Department of Education will release the names of schools that made it off academic probation and will not be taken over by the State.   I’ll have a post up tomorrow. In the meanwhile I thought it would be interesting to post some excerpts on education by the two main candidates for Indianapolis Mayor, Republican incumbent Greg Ballard and Democratic challenger Melina Kennedy.   The words come from their submissions to Hoosier Ed, an education blog launched by the Center of Excellence in Leadership and Learning at the University of Indianapolis.  (Full disclosure, I am on the faculty there in the Graduate School of Business).   You can go there and get their words in their entirety.

Republican Greg Ballard

The city has a stellar record of overseeing charter schools. My administration has added charter schools and is increasing opportunity for the 2,000 students that were on waiting lists to attend Mayor-sponsored charter schools. In 2011, Stanford University found that charter school performance in Indianapolis outpaced the traditional public schools in learning gains. We set high standards, demand results and hold accountable schools that don’t measure up. It’s difficult to argue with the fact that 90% of graduates from Mayor-sponsored charter schools enroll in college.

We do have some outstanding public schools in our community, but we also have too many schools that are failing our children. That’s why I strongly supported the education reforms of Governor Mitch Daniels and Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett. I strongly encourage every administrator, teacher and parent to fully understand their rights under these new reforms and use them to the betterment of our children.

Unfortunately though, after six years of failing to meet the state’s minimum standards, some of our schools face the prospect of being taken over by the state. At my request, the General Assembly this year passed a law giving the Mayor the ability to ask the state to regain local oversight of state takeover schools as early as next year. Once the state determines which schools to take over, I will bring together Dr. Bennett, IPS Superintendent Dr. Eugene White, local community groups, education experts, parents and teachers to develop a local, community-based and accountable management system for each school. We will present our plan to the state next year. These would not be charter schools; however I believe we can and should build a charter-like model that incorporates local leadership, partnerships with local community groups and the flexibility to make long overdue changes.

Democrat Melina Kennedy

The evidence that we need to improve our schools surrounds us, and in the past few years we have taken steps backward, not forward, in many regards.

In May, I unveiled my five guiding principles for improving education in Indianapolis. My goals focus on advocating for better schools, focusing on early childhood education and literacy, maintaining high standards for local charter schools, attracting talent to our educational system and increasing collaboration with the city and among school districts.

Since then, I’ve met with and listened to teachers, parents, students, school administrators, community leaders and others involved in local education. Their message has been clear: We must work together to build a public education system that serves all students and makes our city a destination for innovation and job creation.

For the past four years, there has been a lack of sustained leadership on education in Indianapolis. Simply put, to learn, students have to be engaged in the classroom, and to lead, a mayor has to be engaged in education.

We can’t afford to see our community be divided and lose sight of the most important goal: making sure our schools focus first and always on the students and communities they serve. There’s no issue that touches more residents, whether they have children in the system or not, as the quality of our schools is directly tied to our property values, our crime rate, our ability to attract new employers and our faith in the future of our city.

I know you were probably expecting some kind of blog post on Expo today.  Don’t worry, I will put one together  this weekend.  Right now, I want to share with you an experience I had Thursday evening downtown.  I was walking back to my car from a meeting (Nicky Blaines) when I heard someone call my name.  Well, they didn’t call my name directly they yelled out “radio man”.  Now seeing how Garrison and Amos weren’t around, I figured they were talking to me.  So I walked over and it was a rather large woman who appeared homeless.  She was engaging two out of towners and asked me if I believed there were homeless people in Indianapolis? I told her I believed there were homeless in Indianapolis and there were also people pretending to be homeless and were trying to pull a scam.

At that point she asked for money, I told her I don’t give to individuals, I give to charity.  That was when she proceeded to lecture me.  And somewhere in the inane banter I thought to myself “how does this ‘homeless’ woman know I’m on the radio?  So I started going down the list.   She has a radio which means she has an outlet which means she has electricity which means she has an apartment or a house. But then I thought you can’t see me on the radio so she either has a television and has seen me on RTV 6 or she has a computer and logs on to our station’s website and has seen my photo.  Or course it could also be she’s read my column in the Indianapolis Star.  I’m not quite sure what it was but it was pretty obvious this woman was not homeless.  If anything, she was a prime candidate for type-2 diabetes, but homeless, I don’t think so.

I am all for helping people.  I give to charity, my wife volunteers and gives at her church.  But I don’t give to street beggars, especially the ones not smart enough to know how to really pull a scam and then have the nerve to get an attitude when you tell them no.  So hopefully the woman who was begging will listen to me on the radio, watch me on television or read my work in the newspaper or on the Internet and take a hint.  Or who knows, I might just see her downtown this weekend during the Expo festivities and I’ll tell her myself.

As hard as I would like to find it to believe but I am already hearing complaints about the number officers who will be working downtown this weekend during Indiana Black Expo.  The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, along with volunteers from the faith-based community, will be patrolling downtown to keep unsupervised young people from getting out of line.  IMPD is getting back up assistance from State Police, the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and Capitol Police.  However, for some strange reason, or maybe not so strange, the professional race pimps, aka Baptist Ministers Alliance of Indianapolis took to the airwaves to complain about the police.  They accused law enforcement and the city of hijacking Expo and using it as an excuse to equate blacks and crime.

Now I will be the first one to admit that IMPD has had its issues in the past, but to go after police and law enforcement because of the actions of some unruly children is asinine.   Help me out with this one.  I don’t think law enforcement was the one who shot several people last year and entered a plea agreement with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.  I don’t think law enforcement was running around in the streets after curfew.  And I definitely don’t think law enforcement was abdicating its responsibilities as parents.

If anything, law enforcement has my sympathy.  Officers have had to give up their days off, cancel travel plans and the city has had to spend some untold amount of money because a bunch of people who couldn’t think to stop by Planned Parenthood or Walgreen’s on their way to or from the liquor store or the club decided to procreate and have the rest of us pick up their tab.  Don’t get mad at the cops, get mad at the people who made all this possible by not doing their jobs as parents.

Editor’s Note: As tradition dictates, I’ll be working the door at Nicky Blaines off Monument Circle on Friday and Saturday night.  You can follow my updates on Twitter.

We’re experiencing technical glitches at the station this morning and are off the air.  While I’m trying to figure out if was Eugene White or Ed Treacy who cut the wires and killed the hamster that runs the generator,  check out the column I wrote for today’s Indianapolis Star.  I think it makes or an interesting read, especially during Indiana Black Expo.

Indianapolis Public Schools remained relatively flat in the latest
round of ISTEP testing scores and that could mean some schools are
closer to being taken over by the state. The Indiana State Department of
Education has released the results this morning.  ISTEP is used to
measure student performance in English, Math, Social Studies and
Science.  Students in grades 3-8 take English, language arts and math.
Students in grades 4 and 6 take science, while students in grades 5
and 7 take social studies.  Sixty IPS schools participated in the
ISTEP test.

The district loss ground in math test scores, made slight
improvements in English/Language Arts and was virtually stagnant in the
number of students passing both.  Below is a breakdown.

ISTEP Math

• 57.9% (2011), 59.6 % (2010)

ISTEP English/Language Arts

• 56.2% (2011), 55.8% (2010)

Students passing both English/LA and Math

• 44.6% (2011), 45.1% (2010)

As you can see the overall results are practically flat.  Statewide,
the average pass rate for math was 79%; for English/LA it was 78%.

While the state is looking to takeover several failing IPS schools,
the ISTEP test results would not have much impact at the high school
level, however at Emma Donnan Middle school which is slated for
possible takeover, the results were mixed.  The number of students
passing math went from 50.1% to 48.2%; English went from 40.6% to 41.5%
and the number of students passing both went from 33.8% to 32.4%.  I
would argue that last number is the most damning as IPS made no
progress, but instead went backward.

It’s also worth noting the ISTEP test results at Broad Ripple HS and
Arlington.  Both have 8th grade students and both are slated for
possible takeover as well, as is George Washington Community School
which serves grades 7-12.  Here are their results…

Broad Ripple

• Math - 60.6% (2011), 66.4% (2010)
• English/LA - 61.6% (2011), 72.3% (2010)
• Students passing both - 46.3% (2011), 58.4% (2010)

Arlington

• Math - 21.3% (2011), 31.3% (2010)
• English/LA - 26.6% (2011), 27.3% (2010)
• Students passing both - 14.3% (2011), 15.0% (2010)

George Washington Community

• Math - 40.7% (2011), 43% (2010)
• English/LA - 36.4% (2011), 33.8% (2010)
• Students passing both - 22.6% (2011), 24.2% (2010)

These are not good numbers for a school district that is fighting
for its survival.  IPS has started a door-to-door campaign to get
parents to come back to the district, however who wants to go to a
district where less than half the students can pass basic English and
Math tests?  There are some diamonds in the rough, but you have to dig
through a lot of coal to get there and who wants to go through that
much effort?

A few items of note to report this morning regarding education…

ISTEP test scores are scheduled to be released Tuesday at 10 a.m.  State officials tell me that they will be taken into account in determining whether the state will intervene and takeover several failing schools.  The scores will also help determine whether schools in their fifth year of academic probation become ripe for takeover next year.

More than 100 private/parochial schools have been approved to participate in Indiana’s school voucher program, 13 of them are in Indianapolis.  You can view the entire list here.  One thing that I found was ironic was that one of the schools approved to participate was Cathedral High School on the northeast side of town.  It is less than five minutes from Arlington High School which could be taken over by the state.  It’s amazing to think that although the schools are just a few blocks apart the quality of the education in both places are light years apart.  Hopefully, vouchers will help bridge some of that gap.

I have to give a big thumbs up to Wayne Township schools and their latest education innovation, the creation of a virtual high school.  The Virtual Education Academy will allow students from across the state to get a high school diploma on-line.  The classes are taught by accredited teachers and final exams will have to be taken in person.  One of the best things about the program is that it allows the school to deliver educational services in a cost effective manner, and can even be a revenue generator for the school.  Now there’s a thought, a public school district that actually makes money instead of costing the taxpayers money.

Finally, if you get a chance, join me and the Friedman Foundation for Education Choice on July 29 at the Conrad to celebrate the life of Milton Friedman.  It’s from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.  If you are a big believer in education choice and that a student’s education should not be limited by his zip code or some status quo bureaucrat, then you definitely want to be there.   You can RSVP to Keri Hunter at  keri at edchoice.org. Try to do it by July 22 and it’s also free. Hope to you see there.

It almost got away from me but it four years ago this week history was made here in Indiana.   I know you’re scratching your head right now trying to figure out exactly what it was, let me help.  It was four years ago this past Monday that a small group of tax protesters went to the Governor’s residence at 46th and Meridian and protested their property tax bills which were going through the roof.

There were only about 20-30 of them, but they made enough noise and stayed organized that that protest led to hundreds of people showing up to dump their tax bills in the river and a thousand or show showed up on Monument Circle on a Sunday afternoon in August to protest.  When you throw in the unique political climate of the year, the incumbent Mayor of Indianapolis was thrown out of office which in turned scared the bejesus out of the Indiana legislature which in turn led to property tax caps and an amendment this past year to the state Constitution.

Now we can argue whether the tax caps have been a good idea.  I frankly think they have been and the whining and complaining by some local officials is indicative an inability to look for efficiencies and consolidate services.  However, I think the bigger issue is the fact that a handful of people didn’t like how things were going and got organized and stayed the course and their actions led to a fundamental change and structure in their government.    And it wasn’t 1776, it was 2007.

As you can tell by the headline, this is going to be one of those blog posts.   At 1:30 this morning, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police got a call to the 9400 block of East 44th Street.   When they got there, they found 19-year old Dwight Moore shot.  He died later.  During the 4th of July police had to respond to several shootings in the downtown area, once again, young black men, using each other for target practice.  If you look at the 52 (est.) murders we’ve had in Indianapolis this year nearly 60 percent are black, although blacks only make up about 28 percent of Marion County’s population.  And if you look closely at the assailants, you will find they tend to share the same pigmentation.

Leaving the politics of all this aside,  it’s time for some tough love in this town.   There is a criminal element in this town that consists primarily of young black men.  The recent attacks on the Monon; the perpetrators were young black men.  The “Pop It Off Boys” gang; young black men.   The most high ridden crime areas of the city, who are the bad guys?  Say it it with me, they are usually young black men.

This may be painful, but the truth hurts.   What’s really sad about all this is the city is hosting one of the leading historically black fraternities in town this week, Kappa Alpha Psi. There is something wrong when in one part of town we celebrate achievement, academics and perseverance in the face of adversity and at times open rand hostile racism meanwhile, a 19-year old who should have been applying to get into the fraternity has his life snuffed out by gunfire.  There is also something even more wrong when people will read this column and get mad at me and call me a “sellout” or an “Uncle Tom” because I was the guy who was brave enough to tell truth.

Indianapolis, you have a problem.  Your problem is young, black men who are out of control and com.  It’s time to step up and start making examples out of people.  Decent citizens black and white should not have to live in fear of urban terrorists.  The elderly man who marched for civil rights in the 1950s and 60s should not have to live in fear because some Robin Hoodlum doesn’t know how to honor the social contract.  Young people who are trying to do the right thing, shouldn’t have to live in fear because a bunch of cast extras from a Spike Lee film don’t know how to behave.  And I shouldn’t have to write blog posts like this because young black men act like social predators and terrorize the very neighborhoods they live in.

It’s time to step up people and call a spade a spade.  And for those of you who want to complain about why I’m not talking about Casey Anthony, I want you to know that as soon as she shoots someone on the Monon Trail, I’ll will.

This may shock both friend and foe alike, but I used to oppose vouchers for private schools.  I was never crazy about public money going to private schools, whether religious or non-sectarian.   However, over time my positioned changed.  The big thing that did it was the fact I got tired of public schools whining about how they always needed more money when they were already getting more money per student than their private school counterparts.  Secondly, one day I realized that public money was already going to private schools at the college level in the form of student financial aid.  And I had to ask myself, does it really make sense to give what is basically a “voucher” at the college level, but not do it at the the K-12 level which will determine whether the kid gets into college in the first place.

I bring this up because of the Indiana State Teacher’s Association-backed lawsuit that has been filed against the state of Indiana to block the voucher program from going into effect.  Now I could argue this is just another example of typical teachers unions putting themselves and their jobs before students.  I could also argue that if the teachers unions spent as much time trying to improve schools as they did fighting school reform they would be much better off.  But then again, these are the same people who not only spent $1 million in the last election to end up with a 60-40 Republican controlled House of Representatives, but when asked why not start up their own charter school and show everyone how real school reform is done they clammed up like Snookie at a spelling bee.

One of the main arguments in the lawsuit is based on Article 1, Section 6 of the Indiana Constitution which reads as follows…

No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the benefit of any religious or theological institution.

Voucher opponents argue that any public money that goes to private, religious institutions is a benefit to the school and therefore violate the Indiana State Constitution.   Not so fast.   First of all, the beneficiary of the dollars is not the school, it’s the student and their families.  I might be willing to concede the benefit argument if the school was making money on the deal, but it isn’t.  You will find that well-run K-12 schools are not-for-profit ventures that break even as opposed to huge deficits.

But an even broader argument is that if the state school voucher program violates the Indiana Constitution, then so does the Frank O’Bannon scholarship program.  The program designed to help Hoosiers get access to higher education.   Want to know some of the eligible schools on the list?  Here are a few…

• Anderson University
• Crossroads Bible College
• Holy Cross College
• Saint Joseph’s College
• Saint Mary’s College
• University of Notre Dame

The last time I checked these were schools that had a major religious component to them and if there was a debate as to whether these scholarships violated the Indiana State Constitution, it must have been before my time, because I sure don’t recall opponents bringing this up during the last legislative session.

Now some opponents will say that there is a difference between K-12 education and college because college is optional and primary and secondary education are not.  I have no idea what that has to do with anything.   I read that as saying that if the education is mandatory, parents should not have a choice, but if the education is optional (and I argue a post-secondary education isn’t in the 21st Century) then the choice is okay.  What kind of idiotic, backwards thinking is that?  Oh yeah, it’s the type of thinking that manifested itself in the form of opposition to meaningful school reform.

And, one last item.  I also think it’s funny that as the State is getting ready to potentially take over 18 schools that have been failing for the past five years, opponents of education reform managed to find time to file a lawsuit, but never found time to help gets these schools off academic probation.  Isn’t it ironic that the people who profess to support urban education the most are usually the ones who do the most damage to it.

Dear America,

I know this weekend we celebrate your birthday, and 235 is a lot to be proud of, a lot people never thought you’d make it this far.   Unfortunately, you’re not the country you used to be. Don’t get me wrong, I still think this is a place where an individual can rise from abject poverty and come up with the next million dollar idea and make a fortune, but America, you have got to start growing up and acting like a mature responsible adult.

You are going to have to stop spending money you don’t have on things you can’t afford and make some tough choices down the road.  If you don’t it is quite possible that you won’t make the quarter of a millennium club.

Let’s take a look at your finances.  If we’re to take the Congressional Budget Office at its word, for 2011 the President wanted to spend $3.83 trillion.   We’re taking in only $2.228 trillion, which means we’ll run a deficit of $1.48 trillion.   Our national debt is expected to go from $11.9 trillion in FY 2009 to $15 trillion in FY 2011.  Do you see a problem here?   Now there is a little good news in that the federal deficit actually drops to $1.27 trillion in FY 2011; however, I don’t really find a lot of comfort in that.   That’s the equivalent of being told I’m only going to be shot 8 times instead of 10.  I think after I get hit with the first bullet it doesn’t matter anymore.

Part of your problem America is you want to do everything for everybody, and you can’t afford to do that anymore.  You can’t afford to subsidize every industry nor can you afford to subsidize everyone’s health care. You can’t afford to subsidize everyone’s retirement nor their education.  We also can’t subsidize every nation’s national security.  You’ve got some tough choices to make and you better start making them soon.

And to help you out, I have a birthday present for you.  My wife and I will agree to pay a little more to help you get out of debt.  We’ll also let you keep what we’ve paid into Social Security and we won’t take Medicare when we get old if you agree to the following.  Make sure everyone whose getting subsidized (welfare, corporate tax breaks) also takes less.  Stop taking money out of our checks for Social Security.   And incentivize saving so the Lovely Mrs. Shabazz and I can save to cover our own retirement and health care and we can take care of our ourselves in our golden years.  Expanding our 401 K options and health savings accounts will do just fine.

America, if you can do that  you’ll find you’re in better shape than you think.  You’re a great country and having dated a lot of other countries, I’m proud to call you home.  However, there won’t be much of you left if you don’t get your act together.  In 1776 you decided to move out of your Dad George’s basement and strike out on your own.  In 2011, it’s time to recapture that spirit.  If anyone can do it, you can.

Happy Birthday, America!   Enjoy your day!  And no cake!  You’ve been picking up a few pounds over the years and we really need to talk about exercising more.  You can have a cigar though, I’ll buy.  I know a great place 90 miles south of Florida.