Editorial in Star

Today's Sunday Indy Star has an editorial on education which is representative of many opinion pieces. It has some good points but due to the complexity of the topic it still misses the mark. It's just not that simple.

Read the article here.

Here is a little background. The K-12 Efficiency report referred to in the article never mentions the author or documents the background of the report. This report was authored by a small group of people lead by Governor Daniels' educational policy advisor David Shane. Mr. Shane's only educational experience is that of being chief negotiator for IPS many years ago. Not exactly an expert on efficiency.

Speaking of Mr. Shane, when was the last time you read Dr. SueEllen Reed's name in the paper? Dr. Reed is the Superintendent of Public Instruction and had 8,000 more votes than Mitch Daniels and was the number one Republican vote-getter in Indiana. Where is she? The governor and his team has taken the number one vote-getter in Indiana and banished her to the bench. David Shane is now the educational policy advisor and he is not even an elected official. Dr. Reed can hardly get an appointment with the Governor. So much for more open and ethical government that was promised.

David Shane also worked at the Hudson Institute when Mitch Daniels was there. When the Hudson Institute was putting out white papers critical of education, Mr. Shane was behind it.

I have a copy of the K-12 Efficiency report and also copies of rebuttals to the slanted, biased view of Mr. Shane. This report is nothing more than an opinion piece full of misleading information. It is not research. It is a collection of carefully chosen numbers and opinions that is being used to shape public opinion.

Mr. Shane is behind the scenes pushing the Governor's anti-public school agenda.

And that...my friends...you won't read in the newspaper.