Indiana Superintendent Glenda Ritz clashes with State Board of Education
November 14, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz (D) caused a stir this week when she bailed out of a heated meeting with the State Board of Education.[1] Her abrupt exit was a reaction to the board's motion to advance a proposal to expand the role of the Center for Education and Career Innovation, an education agency created by Gov. Mike Pence (R) in August 2013. Ritz views the plan as a threat to her authority as superintendent because it would increase the new agency's influence in shaping state education policy. She also claimed the board's motion "interferes with statutory obligations.".[2]
Ritz resisted the plan, believing it to be in clear violation of Indiana state law. Her criticism led one board member to argue, “You are not the attorney general...We are a public entity. We have the right to vote. No chair can stop us." With that, she adjourned the meeting, bringing discussion of the issue to a halt.[3] Another board member, Gordon Hendry (D), said Ritz's behavior was unprecedented for a chairperson and expressed disappointment in her actions. Despite the disapproval of some board members, in light of Ritz's protestations and the public's consequent focus on the issue, they agreed to wait to vote on the motion.[4][5]
This dispute marked a continution of the power struggle between Ritz and Pence that began soon after Ritz took office. The centerpiece of the struggle was this debate over who controlled the State Board of Education. Often the conflicts were linked to the department of education's leadership structure: As superintendent, Ritz chairs the board; as governor, Pence appoints its members. This recent conflict, however, was the result of unfortunate timing. The day before Ritz walked out the meeting, a number of media outlets printed an op-ed Ritz submitted in which she accused Pence of plotting to consolidate board authority under the governor's office to give himself unprecedented control over the setting of statewide education standards. In the op-ed, Ritz pointedly restated her commitment to "strengthen the Department of Education, not have it dismantled."[3] The previous week, a judge rejected a lawsuit Ritz had filed in which she claimed the board broke the law by convening without her permission while she was out of town. In Ritz's view, the proposal to increase the influence of Pence's nascent education agency represented yet another example of the board skirting state law and facilitating Pence's overreach on education.[4]
Ritz was elected superintendent on November 6, 2012, after a hotly contested race that ended in her narrowly ousting incumbent Republican Tony Bennett. Bennett was unanimously approved for appointment as Florida Commissioner of Education on December 12, 2012 and assumed office as commissioner on January 14, 2013, the same day Ritz was sworn in to succeed him in the Indiana office.[6][7] Bennett resigned August 1, amid revelations that, while he was still superintendent in Indiana, he tampered with a charter school's grading system in order to protect his relationship with a powerful Republican campaign donor.[8][9]
Ritz is a licensed teacher in elementary education and special education. Before becoming superintendent, Ritz worked as a Library Media Specialist at Crooked Creek Elementary School in the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township, Indianapolis.[10]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Chalkbeat Indiana, "Board tentions explode as Ritz walks out on meeting," November 13, 2013
- ↑ Chalkbeat Indiana, "Board tensions explode as Ritz walks out on meeting," November 13, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Indianapolis Star, "State Schools chief Glenda Ritz accuses Mike Pence of trying a 'complete takeover of education'," November 13, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Indiana Public Media, "What State Board Members Said After Glenda Ritz Walked Out of Wednesday's Meeting," November 14, 2013
- ↑ Indianapolis Star, "Editorial: Glenda Ritz's walkout ill serves state, students," November 13, 2013
- ↑ Orlando Sentinel, "Tony Bennett applied for Fl’s school job, Indiana office says," December 3, 2012
- ↑ Courier Press, "Incoming education chief Glenda Ritz plans easy transition," January 13, 2013
- ↑ Miami Herald Florida, Amid grading controversy, Florida education chief Tony Bennett resigns, August 1, 2013
- ↑ Tallahassee.com, "New Fla. education commissioner followed Bush lead," January 14, 2013
- ↑ Ritz 4 Ed, "Meet Glenda," accessed December 7, 2012
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