The Indy Star has an article entitled Powerful panel on education falls silent, discussing the fact that the education roundtable has not met since January. It’s apparently a model used by other states — not very often Indiana is on the cutting edge of something — and is credited with “some of the biggest leaps in state education reform, including last fall’s bid for tougher high school graduation requirements.” The Star mentions Daniels’ record on education includes:
• A January freeze on school construction projects, whose costs are steeper than the national average. He later replaced the moratorium with strict building guidelines.
• Sweeping education proposals such as a plan for taxpayer-supported vouchers for private schools and a bid to move Indiana’s state test from the fall to the spring. Both measures failed in the Statehouse.
• A state budget that critics say shortchanges schools so much that many districts will lay off teachers, boost class sizes and raise property taxes.
The Star includes a quote from Micah Clark, roundtable member and follower of the teachings of Brother Dobson:
“I’m not the type of person who thinks once you create a government panel it has to go on forever,” said Micah Clark, director of the American Family Association of Indiana. “I do think the roundtable has an importance, but I also think the governor’s quite capable of getting things done with his own powers.” I doubt Mr. Clark will ever be a big supporter of Indiana’s educational infrastructure until it endorsing that evolution nonsense.
I don’t get the idea that Governor Daniels is ready to go the Kansas route of taking evolution out of the state’s science curriculum. But, I guess guys like Clark can hope.
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