Indiana’s gubernatorial candidates have approached education largely along party lines, with Democratic candidate Jennifer McCormick releasing a more detailed plan, an Indiana University education expert said.
McCormick, who was the state’s last elected superintendent of public instruction, presented a five-point plan focused on school accountability, academic rigor and teacher salaries, according to a news release.
First, McCormick wants to focus on strong beginnings, which will prioritize Indiana’s investment at every level of the education pathway. That includes encouraging affordable child care to address Indiana’s child care deserts and expanding access to early education until the state has a universal preschool system in place, the release said.
The plan calls for holding all schools accountable by establishing a simplified and transparent accountability platform to hold all schools to the same academic and financial standards, the statement said.
For teachers, the plan calls for the McCormick administration to fight to raise teacher pay to $60,000 a year and adjust veteran teachers’ salaries to reflect those of their non-teaching peers. The McCormick administration would also protect teachers’ rights by protecting teachers’ unions’ freedom to negotiate salaries and benefits, the statement said.
The plan also calls for a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum through local autonomy to design a curriculum that prepares students for their future and “prevents politicians from deciding what books children can read,” the statement said.
Finally, the plan provides for the continuation of post-secondary education by protecting and better funding higher education institutions and by directing vocational training programs. It will protect university tenure and respect apprenticeships and certifications in the skilled trades.
“It’s time to stop experimenting in education, let teachers teach, pay them fairly, and allow students to succeed,” McCormick said in the statement. “Our goal is an education system with professional teachers and accountable schools that prepare students for success, whether that means going to college, entering the workforce, or joining the military.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s education platform advocates free school choice and a curriculum that prepares students for careers, college or the military, according to his campaign website.
Braun advocates keeping topics like critical race theory, a college-level theory that focuses on the relationship between race and ethnicity and social constructs and laws, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity, out of the classroom.
As a former school board member, Braun also said he would protect parental rights, as parents are the primary stakeholders and decision-makers in their children’s lives and education.
Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater said improving K-12 education starts with encouraging competition and innovation, according to his campaign website.
In his “Miscellaneous Issues” section, he advocates for universal free choice of schools and wants to encourage educational platforms that are profitable and accessible to all households.
Chris Lubienski, director of the Center for Educational Policy and Evaluation at Indiana University, said McCormick’s plan focuses on education from within the system, which is not surprising since she is the former superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools. Similarly, Braun’s plan targets forces outside the education system, which is not surprising coming from a former Jasper school board member.
McCormick has released a more detailed plan, Lubienski said, with raising the minimum wage for teachers and universal preschool as the most important elements of the proposal.
While raising the minimum wage for teachers is a benefit, Lubienski said the result will likely be that poorer school districts will raise teacher pay, wealthier districts will likely pay their teachers more to stay competitive, so the wage gap will likely continue.
“It will help attract teachers to rural and underfunded districts, but it doesn’t necessarily help as much when it comes to addressing inequities between districts,” Lubienski said.
To close the pay gap, the state could allocate more resources to underfunded schools, but that would likely mean well-resourced schools would receive less, Lubienski said. That would provide an incentive for underfunded schools not to actually pay teachers more because the state would pick up the tab, he said.
“It’s certainly a delicate question,” Lubienski said.
While research has shown that universal preschool is an upfront investment with future payoffs, Lubienski said the obstacle to the plan in Indiana will be political, as the Legislature will have to approve funding for the program.
McCormick also defends public schools, but appears to support charter schools by calling for accountability, Lubienski said.
“I think she recognizes the political reality that parents are not going to suddenly turn their backs on free tuition for their kids. Instead of tackling it head on, she’s asking for more accountability from schools, more transparency about how they handle finances and admissions policies,” Lubienski said.
The call for local control of the plan seems to reference a bit of her old Republican roots, Lubienski said, but also her time as superintendent, when she likely liked to make decisions without state legislative interference.
“I think she can see both the potential and the limitations of changes coming out of the state capitol, especially in a state like Indiana where there’s just a hodgepodge of charter schools, vouchers, open-enrollment public schools, and where there’s value in addressing different concerns and different communities,” Lubienski said.
Braun said he has studied the issue of education savings accounts, which are a broader approach to school choice, Lubienski said. Education savings accounts have “taken off” in Republican states, Lubienski said, which, instead of giving parents money to pay for private school tuition, give each child their own education savings account that can be used for many other things, such as homeschooling or other classes, such as dance.
Neither candidate has addressed higher education in their campaign plans or on their websites, Lubienski said, a topic he would have liked to see addressed. McCormick has made some statements about tenure, and Braun seems more focused on career paths than higher education, he said.
akukulka@chicagotribune.com
