Indiana Representative Jake Teshka’s official website lists his occupation as “Business Development Professional,” and his newly-proposed bill would certainly call for charter school businesses to be developed in the state.
HB 1136 is simple in its objective; if more than 50% of eligible students are enrolled outside of the public schools, that public school district will be dissolved and replaced with a charter system governed by an unelected board.
The bill calls for that 50% count to be established as of the fall of 2024. Any district that falls under the bill would have to transition all schools to “operating as charter schools” by July of 2028. Charter schools are privately owned and operated, but funded by public taxpayer dollars.
The school corporation central office must cease operating, and would not be allowed to pass new taxes nor extend old ones.
The new board would be composed of seven members. Four would be appointed by the governor, one appointed by the mayor, one appointed by the “president of the fiscal body for the county, and one appointed by the executive director of the Indiana charter school board. None would be elected by taxpayers.
This new board would handle the dissolution of the old school corporation and “recruit high performing organizers to operate schools” as they are transitioned to charters. The board would also have the same “levying authority” as other school corporations in the state.
They've told us the goal all along, and here it is. Education as a business, what could possibly go wrong with that?! The hubris of these legislators is unmatched. Before they cast a single vote, they should spend a month in a public school (and a month auditing the books of a charter)
There may be a bit of a silver lining here. We are way overdue for a frank discussion and reexamination about why and when we tax ourselves to provide benefits to others. Fundamentally, it is a social contract where individuals contribute $ to services that presumably promote the common good. This contract comes with certain expectations - everyone contributes in some manner, we all get a say in what is being done, and that those services actually provide benefits to us all. When that contract is broken, as Indiana proposes to do, the taxpayers have every right to fight back. Apart from those cynical ideologues and money grabbers, many of those receiving the services have forgotten the terms of the contract. We all can use a reminder of the difference between entitlement and obligation.