We love our public schools and we vote! 

This was the message brought home at our 14th annual ICPE all-member meeting in Washington Township on Saturday, August 24. It was a powerful event and we were thrilled to see so many attend in person–and online. 

Our president, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, kicked things off with an introduction that reminded us of how much is at stake this November. She made the point she so often makes: politics is not just Republican or Democrat; politics is about our relationship to power and our public schools are in the midst of a power struggle. You can read her remarks here. 

Our lobbyist and general counsel, Joel Hand, gave us a rundown of what happened at the Statehouse last session and, more importantly and quite terrifyingly, what we might expect the next session. (Note: when you support us with your generous membership and/or donation, we are getting this amazing voice at the statehouse to represent us, Joel). 

The moment we had all been looking forward to arrived next: Dr. Jennifer McCormick came and inspired us, as always, with her passionate words and vision for what our state could be if we had leadership. Jennifer has been a tireless champion for public schools, teachers, and kids her whole life. In Jennifer we can see that she has the ability to find that common ground, enact common sense solutions, and ensure that our state can live up to its potential. She is the first candidate that we as an organization have ever endorsed  and that is because she is the right person at the right time to change the direction of our state and ensure that ALL children get the schools they deserve. 

After Jennifer left to a standing ovation, we were fortunate to have Dr. Phil Downs speak and share with us the information about what the real cost of vouchers is and how it is harming our public schools. Dr. Downs meticulously puts together the data on vouchers and helps the public digest the information and understand how much damage is done to our public schools budgets. You can view his presentation slides here. Public schools serve all children, regardless of background, and yet vouchers are going to schools that can and do openly discriminate against students and staff, don’t have requirements to be transparent in their funds, and are increasingly serving wealthy and whiter families. If you look at the budget of Indiana’s general fund, it is the fifth largest expenditure, yet there are no requirements for transparency and accountability of our tax dollars in that expense. Waste and grift can be occurring and we would know nothing about it. Shameful. 

The last presenter was our very own, Keri Miksza, who introduced our members and guests to two tools they can use for being informed voters–and for informing others. Thanks to some incredible volunteers, ICPE has begun a candidate Pledge Program. You can learn more about it and find out which candidates have pledged to support our public schools here. In addition, Keri showed us the latest Legislative Scorecard so that the public can hold their elected officials accountable for votes on key education bills. It’s not enough to elect our public education supportive candidates, but we must continue to hold them accountable. This tool is another way to help in that process. 

Lastly, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer came back to thank everyone and to remind us that we must get involved now. We love our public schools and we vote. We must spread this message loud and clear and take it with us into the voting booth and #VotePublicEd. As Jennifer McCormick so often exudes: “Let’s go!” And so we do. So we have. And so we will.

If you were unable to attend the event, please consider sending us a donation to support our work. While we need funding to continue our work, we also need lots and lots of members to demonstrate…. We need all of you,  because this election, and the legislative session that will follow it in January, will take ALL of us to ensure that we keep the PUBLIC in public education. Our kids depend on us to, not just “like” things on Facebook, or moan and groan about the onslaught of privatization efforts, but to do some part in making sure that the people who make decisions are supportive of public schools and the mission to fulfill the promise for every single child. 

Thank you all for all you do to support us as we continue this work.