Take Back Indy » Education

IPS “Heat Days”

TBI — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:07:14 +0000

Via WIBC…

IPS will dismiss early today. IPS will follow a half-day schedule. A number of schools have no air conditioning. Today’s high is 98. There will be no extracurricular activities except athletics.

This was a common occurrence during my August days in IPS as a student and it’s not surprising that nothing has changed (I never recall this happening when the school year started after Labor Day). There are too many things that are wrong with why we even have this situation and I frankly don’t have enough time to properly address them all.

Bottom line, we cannot sink our trust into government and education. Both have their place, but they are not the “be-all, end-all” solution to the woes of society.

H. Douglas Williams Takes New Job

TBI — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:41:17 +0000

Via IndyStar…

Former Perry Township Schools Superintendent H. Douglas Williams has a new job in Indianapolis.

Williams is the director of education initiatives at The Mind Trust, an education non-profit addressing entrepreneurship in Indianapolis’ public education. Williams will lead a project focusing on curbing the city’s dropout rate and creating new high school options for students who have not succeeded in traditional high schools.

Read the full story.

Property Tax Freeze and School Funds

TBI — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 23:14:16 +0000

Here’s a common case of cause-and-effect…

Marion County – This taxing time is giving Marion County schools a costly economics lesson. Delays and confusion over property taxes has them short on cash and looking to borrow millions of dollars.

Freezing property taxes and delaying payment deadlines is creating a financial upheaval for Marion County’s Schools. Tax money needed to pay teachers, operating costs and construction bills, already weeks late, will arrive even later. It will total tens of millions of dollars less than schools counted on.

While no one likes tax increases, do you think that tax increases would help student performance? And do you think that there should be restrictions on the use of the additional funds?

Read the full story at WTHR.