Recent editorials published in Indiana newspapers

The (Bloomington) Herald-Times. June 2, 2016

Welcoming refugees in line with our values.

Bloomington's reputation as a welcoming city has been polished recently with news that Exodus Refugee Immigration is trying to open a sub-office in Bloomington. That would open the opportunity for resettling a handful of refugees from war-affected areas to our community.

These refugees would most likely be from Syria or the Congo.

Some steps need to be taken for the office to open and for any people to be relocated, but both could be a reality by next spring.

There are some who would worry about opening our community to these people, but more would welcome these human beings in need of a safe place after being uprooted from their homes.

Cole Varga, executive director of Exodus, talked to the H-T recently about the breadth of the refugee problem.

"There are now 20 million refugees in the world with an additional 40 million displaced individuals," Varga said in the email. "With this level of humanitarian need, cities across the U.S. are looking to open their doors to the world's most vulnerable people." He said he'd been in contact with some local residents and faith groups to explore how to partner with Bloomington.

As is often the case, Bloomington would be at odds with the position of Gov. Mike Pence's office. Pence last year ordered state agencies to suspend certain federal aid to Syrian refugees. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sued on behalf of Exodus, and Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Indiana ruled Pence's directive "clearly discriminates" against refugees. The state appealed Pratt's ruling and continued to argue for blocking the resettlement of refugees in Indiana.

Exodus is awaiting a decision on the appeal.

Resettling a small number of federally vetted refugees in Bloomington with connections to faith groups and others sympathetic to the horror they've been through would be consistent with the community's values on diversity and inclusion. Congratulations to the groups and individuals working to make it happen.

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The (Munster) Times. June 2, 2016

E.C. dropout program worth noting.

All too often, our society writes off students who drop out of high school. We've seen frequent reports about what happens to some of these former students after becoming involved in gangs or other criminal activity.

Too many end up incarcerated or dead.

At East Chicago Central High School, 67 students out of 225 - or about three in 10 students - in 2015 didn't cross the finish line, according to data from the Indiana Department of Education.

So we all should take note of a partnership recently forged between the School City of East Chicago and the private Elkhart-based The Crossing School of Business and Entrepreneurship.

The private school seeks to track down high school dropouts and entice them to complete their diplomas through a program also offering training in career or job skills.

In its 13 years, The Crossing reports serving more than 10,000 students. It hopes to enroll at least 125 students from East Chicago.

The program will be funded through a portion of East Chicago public schools money, and The Crossing will obtain a list of known dropouts from the school district and go from there.

We still have questions about the estimated program cost, but we also know providing dropouts with a means to an education and professional opportunities will save society money in the end.

It's an innovative approach to a problem that plagues more than just East Chicago - and thus should be closely observed and potentially copied by other Region districts.

When students become at risk for various perils in life by dropping out of school, our entire society faces associated risks.

The Crossing is a state-accredited private school program with a track record for targeting such issues. We hope this public-private partnership is a successful formula for breaking the cycle of squandered futures for too many Region youth.

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South Bend Tribune. June 3, 2016

Reversing the trend of population loss.

There was a bit of good news for South Bend recently when the latest census estimates were released.

The city grew by 311 residents in 2015 to reach a total population of 101,516. More importantly, it was the third consecutive year of growth after more than a decade of decline.

Granted, a population increase of a little more than 300 people is hardly reason to expect South Bend - the state's fourth largest city - will reach the levels it enjoyed during the heyday of Midwest manufacturing when the population was 132,000 in 1960. After all, the latest figures represent only estimates and are not official. But they could be an indication that South Bend's population losses over the 10 years have leveled off.

Important, too, is that growth is accelerating from 196 new residents in 2013 to 212 in 2014 and 311 last year. Matt Kinghorn, a senior demographic analyst and state demographer with the Indiana Business Research Center, told The Tribune's Erin Blasko that St. Joseph County is one of only four counties in the state that grew at a faster than average pace.

Part of what could be contributing to a renewed interest in city living is more downtown residential developments serving as options for young professionals and empty-nesters interested in urban living.

As Mayor Pete Buttigieg said, there is an instinctive feeling that the city is growing and coming back. And South Bend is investing in assets such as roads, parks and neighborhoods that are helping to fuel that sentiment.

To be sure, three years of small growth or a leveling off doesn't mean South Bend is poised to reach population levels of old. There are unpredictable factors, most notably the economy, that could change the pattern. The official 2020 Census should paint a clearer picture.

For now, though, it's good news to know that South Bend appears to be reversing a decade old trend of population loss, and the city is taking steps to give itself the best chance of continuing that trend.

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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. June 2, 2016

Government oversight a worthwhile expense.

Take the idea of shrinking government to its inevitable conclusion and you end up without police and fire protection. That's an exaggerated example, of course, but the financial risk created by cutting oversight of local government spending is very real.

Where the State Board of Accounts once audited cities and counties annually and school corporations every other year, it now audits financial records every four years unless warning signs point to problems. The procedural change comes from a revision in state law.

"The statute on frequency of audits changed last year from annual or biannual to a risk-based approach," Todd Caldwell, director of audit services for the SBOA, told the Star Press of Muncie.

Most public finance officials are law-abiding and meticulous in their adherence to accounting standards - meaning an audit once each four years is adequate. But where those entrusted with public dollars are untrustworthy, ill-prepared or careless, the results can be costly.

What Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller described as "among the most egregious public corruption situations" is a case involving Warsaw Community Schools, where the former maintenance director was arrested last July, accused of accepting kickbacks of more than $115,000 over a six-year period. The school board fired Gregory Schroeder in 2014 after the alleged kickbacks came to light. A special audit by the State Board of Accounts followed and found the school district spent nearly $800,000 on kitchen drain products alone between 2005 and 2014 - an expense that reasonably would have totaled about $40,000. In all, the state is seeking nearly $1 million in restitution, along with court costs and attorney fees.

The Warsaw case was uncovered when the state was still conducting regular audits - how long might the excessive spending have gone unnoticed under the SBOA's new procedures?

About 200 field examiners audit school and local government accounts in 92 counties, but the number of governmental units means "a lot of work and not enough hands is part of the issue," Caldwell told the Star Press.

Even where budgets are smaller, there is risk. A former Woodburn clerk-treasurer, sentenced to four years in prison after an audit found $300,000 missing. A former Huntertown fire chief went to prison for stealing $25,000 in department funds.

Small communities are particularly vulnerable because they are more likely to be overseen by employees without expertise in budgeting and without opportunities for training, and where there are fewer employees to provide checks and balances.

Taxpayers might like the idea of reducing the size of government, but be careful what you shrink.