A group of opponents to HB1187
Bill removing the Gary Teachers Union and letting state select Gary school board is dead
Contributed By:The 411 News
Republican legislators' anti-union and anti-Gary bill dies in committee
Gary residents, teachers, church leaders, city council members and the local NAACP came back from Indianapolis Thursday afternoon smiling; momentum was on their side after a win in the minefields of the Indiana statehouse.
Heeding the request of legislators representing Gary who said they alone couldn’t fight legislation harmful to Gary voters and the city’s public school system, they traveled to Indianapolis to oppose a bill that would change the rules ending the state takeover of the city’s public school district.
Rep. Vernon Smith, Democrat (District 14) from Gary, said he doesn’t know what made Rep. Tim Brown pull HB1187 Gary Community School Corporation. To end the state takeover and return the school district to local control, Brown’s bill would remove the teachers’ union and allow the Indiana Secretary of Education to appoint the school board. The board would then be required to appoint the district’s emergency manager as school superintendent for the first year of local control.
Current laws defining the start and end of state takeover were created in 2017 and 2018. Those measures provided the district would return to local control upon maintaining a balanced budget for 2 consecutive years. According to the emergency manager, the district satisfied that condition in 2021 and is likely to do so in 2022. The district came under state control when it couldn’t pay its bills.
The consensus among Democratic Senate and House legislators representing Gary is anti-union and anti-Gary Republican legislators now want to change the rules.
Rep. Brown, Republican (District 41) from Crawfordsville, introduced HB1187 bill during the first week of the House session. As chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, a favorable committee vote would move the bill to the House floor where Republicans dominate by a 71-29 majority. Republicans have a 10-7 majority in Ways and Means.
Thursday morning’s destination for the caravan of buses and car pools from Gary headed to Indianapolis was the meeting room where the Ways and Means Committee was set to have its first hearing on HB1187 at 1:30pm. A contingent of Gary voters opposed to the bill was also at the statehouse last week when Governor Holcomb delivered his state message to both chambers of the general assembly.
Rep. Smith said when the morning session of the full House ended, he stepped off the floor to make a phone call. “When I returned, Rep. Ragen Hatcher and Rep. Robin Shackleford, told me about their conversation with Rep. Brown. He had told them HB1187 would be pulled.”
“I don’t know what happened. Maybe Brown received some pushback in his party. Maybe the phone calls and emails worked,” Smith said.
Gary Teachers Union President GlenEva Dunham said her busload of Gary teachers and supporters had just entered the statehouse, headed for the hearing room, when they heard the bill had been pulled.
Rep. Smith said Brown’s bill may be dead, but the language could be inserted in other House legislation.
The Gary Legislative Delegation, composed of Sen. Eddie Melton, Sen. Lonnie Randolph, Rep. Smith, Rep. Earl Harris Jr. and Rep. Ragen Hatcher, released the following statement:
“While this legislation has been blocked for now, we encourage allies, stakeholders and community members to remain vigilant and active until the end of session. Please visit iga.in.gov to stay updated on moving legislation and keep an eye on amendments being made to other bills. It is still possible for language in HB 1187 to be put into another proposal so we urge you all to stay engaged.
Rep. Brown co-authored the 2017 takeover bill through amendments to a senate bill co-authored by Democratic Senators Lonnie Randolph and Eddie Melton requesting state financial assistance to help the Gary schools. Browns’ amendments added the state’s Distressed Unit Appeal Board as the school district’s overseeing body, allowing the DUAB to select an education management organization (EMO) to act as day-to-day operator. The bill took away the authority and responsibilities of the district’s school superintendent and school board.
The DUAB then selected MGT Consulting and its subsidiary Gary Schools Recovery, LLC to operate the school district, in effect becoming the district’s school board and district’s superintendent.
Opponents to HB1187 at Indiana statehouse after learning bill had died in committee
Story Posted:01/21/2022
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