Editorial Roundup: Indiana

KPC News. April 18, 2021.

Editorial: Budget surplus should be used for education

The running gag lately following announcement of a proposed $2 trillion federal infrastructure plan is that everything is infrastructure nowadays.

So let us take part, both for fun of hopping on the bandwagon but also to make a serious point - education is infrastructure.

Indiana should invest in it now, especially coming out of a disruptive pandemic.

Indiana received good news on Thursday, with the announcement that the state revenue forecast is about $2 billion higher than previously anticipated.

With that windfall of public money coming into the state, lawmakers should invest that directly back into public education.

Public education. Public education. PUBLIC education. PUBLIC education.

We repeat the phrase with various forms of emphasis here because we suspect the Indiana General Assembly will need the repetition in order to remember, as lawmakers seem to constantly confuse it with private education.

Public education is the one that educates 90% of Hoosier students. It's the one that has been underfunded compared to the rate of inflation over the last 10-plus years. It's the one that employs thousands upon thousands of teachers whose wages have not kept pace with competitors and the one that is bleeding staff at an alarming rate because of it.

It should be easy to remember. 'œPublic money'ť and 'œpublic schools'ť both start with the same word, so it should be easy to match one to the other.

We recognize that 'œprivate'ť also starts with the letter P, but the rest of the letters don't match up.

Again, we stress this point because past action proves that lawmakers are often confused on the point, such as in earlier this year, after they did, to their credit, choose to boost education funding across the state, but then devoted about one-third of the increase to private and homeschool options.

Not only do those education options account for only about 10% of Hoosier pupils, they are also held to a less rigorous standard than public schools, which - piggy-backing onto the earlier mention of teachers leaving the profession - is another part of the reason why educators are heading for the door.

Although we are of the opinion that the correct percentage of public money that should be spent on private education is 0%, failing that, we would at least encourage the state to utilize its found money to at minimum even up new education funding to its correct proportion at 90/10.

Senate Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, has signaled he would prefer the state instead do safe, boring, conservative things with it.

'œThis is not a time for us to grow government, but rather a time to make investments that can eliminate debt, pay down pension obligations to free up money that the state can use in the future,'ť Bray said.

We agree it is time to make investments that can eliminate debt, which is why the state should invest its money in education.

Bigger wages for teachers will immediately help reap slightly bigger income tax collections next spring, while better education for Hoosier students will generate economic dividends in the future.

The youth are the road to the future. They're the pipeline to tomorrow's workforce. They'll create the bridge between today and the future economy.

Trust us, we've got plenty more infrastructure puns ready to go, if needed.

Instead, we'll simply conclude by stating that, yes, education is infrastructure.

Invest in it now.

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South Bend Tribune. April 18, 2021.

Editorial: Harassment allegations by South Bend firefighters demand full investigation

The charges made in a letter written by The South Bend Fire Department's 12 female members, alleging a longstanding culture of sexual harassment and discrimination, demand a full investigation, and decisive action upon its completion if warranted.

The letter, obtained by The Tribune and sent to the mayor's office, the fire chief and the Board of Public Safety, references the discipline of an unnamed captain. This captain, the letter says, 'œdemeaned, harassed and blocked'ť a female firefighter while verbally harassing her, and also 'œbattered her by striking her in the head.'ť

The captain was placed on 24-hour unpaid leave, broken up into three 8-hour days, according to a notice that Chief Carl Buchanon sent the Board of Public Safety and that the city provided to The Tribune after a public records request. This punishment, the women write, is the same that a firefighter receives for being late or missing work.

'œThe fire department administration, the city, and the Board of Public Safety have failed the women of the South Bend Fire Department,'ť the letter reads. 'œWe come to work expecting a workplace free of harassment and violence, yet when it occurs it is treated like a slap on the wrist, even when the accused captain freely admits to the actions '¦ and this was his third offense!'ť

While the letter points to a specific incident, it also alleges deeper workplace problems that have festered for years and gone unaddressed.

The ramifications here are clear, affecting Fire Department leadership, staff morale, a culture of respect - and how quickly and effectively the city handles such complaints.

As the 'œMe Too'ť movement has brought into sharp focus, the treatment of women in the workplace should not be ignored.

South Bend Mayor James Mueller and Chief Carl Buchanon, in a statement from the mayor's spokesman, pledged to 'œtake proactive steps necessary to ensure an inclusive and harassment-free workplace.'ť

The statement also says city officials have met with the firefighters who raised the concerns. They have plenty to investigate and plenty of questions to answer.

If a systemic issue exists, there's no time to waste. And if serious accusations and problems have indeed been swept away for years, it's well past time to figure out how to fix them, who should be held accountable and how to create a new workplace culture within the Fire Department.

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Columbus Republic. April 15, 2021.

Editorial: Graduations should be held in person

Over the last 13 months, we've learned a significant amount of new information about COVID-19.

We now better understand how the virus is transmitted, which age groups are most vulnerable, how it can be treated in extreme cases, and what practices best limit the spread of the disease.

On top of all the changes to our daily habits, a vaccine is now available to all Hoosiers aged 16 and older.

These developments have allowed us to resume some normal aspects of life, such as hosting larger gatherings like sporting events, as long as strict health precautions are followed.

While some school administrations have verbally committed to returning to in-person graduations in 2021, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. hasn't made any concrete decisions for next month's ceremonies yet.

Right now, BCSC hopes 'œmodified'ť graduations will take place, as opposed to last year's celebrations which were mostly online and spread out over a number of days.

It's understandable that BCSC wants to wait to give out the fine details - a lot can change over the course of the next month - but right now they should plan on having an in-person event.

Last May, we were only two months into the pandemic when graduations were supposed to take place, so it made sense to go virtual. Now, we know that masks and social distancing are the best ways to help slow the spread, and we're far less likely to catch the virus if we're outdoors.

BCSC could hold the graduations at the football stadiums, and limit the number of tickets each family receives, to have a controlled environment. To ensure masks are worn, BCSC could give out face coverings commemorating the special day to both the graduates and attendees.

For those not comfortable attending in-person, the schools could livestream the event like they did for their football games last fall.

While in a much smaller district, Hauser Jr./Sr. High School is tentatively scheduled for May 28 in the school's gym. That plan could change, but right now students and their families can look forward to celebrations.

This is a very special time of year for a lot of families. Graduating from high school is a milestone in any person's life, whether they plan on going to college, the workforce or military next.

Local students and families should be afforded the opportunity to have those few hours to celebrate their achievements together.

END