Senator Miller's Re-Election Campaign Has Begun 8.19.11

Clearly, Senator Pat Miller has the belief that going on the attack and publicly criticizing the Franklin Township School Administration will win her re-election.  Otherwise, how could one explain the use of her campaign funds to mail letters to all residents in the community she represents and the repeated editorial articles in The Franklin Township Informer.  Senator Miller has been extarodinarily vocal on this issue.  Quite honestly, I can't remember many times where she was visible in Franklin Township prior to this issue.  We've heard more from Pat in the last 30 days than in the last 10 years combined.  Could it be because the restructuring of the boundaries for election reduced her area of representation primarily to Franklin Township?  Possibly.  Or, maybe she has just become a passionate advocate for our children and our community with a newfound sense of responsibility to do what is best in our school system.  If that is the case, I look forward to supporting her in her battle at the state level to fight for Franklin Township students when the legislature reconvenes.  After all, she must recognize by now the school administration will not change the course of action they laid out to the public well before the referendum vote.  Most now have a clear understanding the board wasn't bluffing - there will not be bus transportation funded by the schools as we are over a week into the school year and nothing has changed.


In my opinion, Senator Miller is banking on the idea of keeping the uninformed residents of Franklin Township riled up, but the tide is turning and pressure is mounting on her.  Those who have taken the time to educate themselves by doing their own homework and having direct conversations with Senator Miller to ask her the tough questions... they are seeing this isn't a local issue.  This is a big problem the state has generated... and they have no reasonable answers.  Why?  Because they honestly did not foresee the impacts of the property tax caps.  That in itself is okay.  You can't foresee every problem.  It is the fact that Pat Miller and other representatives ignored the pleas of the school system since the first conversations about the idea of tax caps - when everyone knew the impact of this long ago - that is what has made this a state problem.


You don't have to listen to me.  The rest of this blog entry will not be my made up of my providing you with information or sharing my opinions.  Rather, it will be information and opinions from 3 other people.  The first two will be emails shared with me from Franklin Township Residents Paige Green and Todd Colip.  Paige recaps a direct conversation she had with Senator Miller and Todd shared a message he sent directly to Senator Miller.  The third piece of information is Dr. Bourke's Message to the Franklin Township Community in reply to the accusations made by Senator Miller.


PAIGE GREEN

Greetings,

As many of you opened your mail today, you found a letter from Senator Pat Miller.  Senator Miller is voicing her disapproval of the transportation situation.  Immediately, I contacted Senator Miller.  I asked her to outline her five alternative solutions.  Three of the solutions involve borrowing more money or extending the period for the current debt.  Borrowing more money does not seem like the path to balanced budget. 

The fourth solution was to use the district's Rainy Day Fund.  I reminded Senator Miller that the State currently has over a billion dollars in its Rainy Day Fund.  Then, I asked why the State's elected officials aren't distributing that money to the school districts.  She had no response.

The fifth solution involved legislation.  Unless she has authority to call a special session, nothing will happen before 2012 when our state reps and senators reconvene.

I do hope others will find a few minutes to contact Senator Miller.

Below is Geoff Horen's comments regarding the transportation situation.  I hope you find his history lesson helpful.  Our school system is one of the best in Indiana.  The teachers and administrators need our support to continue this success.  Take just a minute to contact a teacher, staff member or administrator to voice your support and appreciation for his or her work and accomplishments. 

Sincerely,

Paige


DR. BOURKE

Dear Neighbor,

Students have returned to Franklin Township Community School Corporation, Marion County’s number one school district, for the 2011-2012 school year. The faculty and staff begin the school year enthused, despite all of the changes forced by massive budget reductions, knowing that their dedication and hard work sets the bar for academic success in Marion County. If you have not heard, your Franklin Township schools ranked No. 1 among county schools for the 2010-2011 school year.

By now, you are probably aware that the school district not only had to close three schools, it had to cease the service of general transportation for its students this school year. These are changes that have been predicted for years as a result of Indiana’s school funding formula and dwindling property tax revenue. Transportation is still available for a fee by contracting with a driver through Central Indiana Education Service Center (CIESC), a state agency that assists school districts in sharing services and cooperative purchasing.

Last week most of the community received a letter from the Pat Miller For State Senate Committee. In her letter, Sen. Miller is highly critical of the efforts by the Franklin Township Board of Education to balance its budget and preserve educational programs.  As a resident and taxpayer in Franklin Township and Superintendent of its schools, I would like to address several issues that Sen. Miller mentions, but fails to explain.

In a cooperative effort to provide transportation, FTCSC sold a number of buses to CIESC for $1. We did this so the CIESC did not have to purchase buses at a much higher cost. That higher cost would have been passed on to the parents with a higher fee. What Sen. Miller fails to state in her letter, though she is aware of this fact, is that sales contract for the buses stipulates that they can only be used to transport FTCSC students.  It also stipulates that should CIESC ever cease providing transportation for our students that FTCSC can buy the buses back for the same price $1. In 2010-2011 the cost of transporting a child aboard our buses was approximately $550 per year.

In a comparable situation, it is interesting to note that Sen. Miller’s supportive vote of the charter school legislation this past session allows for our three temporarily unused vacant school facilities to be sold for $1. Once these schools are permanently sold to these private charter school groups, FTCSC loses them. These are school buildings that we may need again and for which you paid.

Sen. Miller in her letter also points to the fact that FTCSC has $17 million in its Rainy Day Fund (RDF), which is true. The board and I have worked hard to move as much money to that fund as we could the past few years to prepare for today and our future.  During 2011 we will receive $16.6 million (36%) less than what the Department of Local Government Finance certified as necessary to pay for our property tax fund operations.  Once we pay our debt and our utilities not only is our transportation fund left at zero, so is our Capital Projects Fund (CPF). It is from the CPF that we pay for all of the costs associated with classroom technology, instructional equipment, and for all maintenance and repair to facilities and equipment.  We plan to use the RDF to reduce the burden on our General Fund for the foreseeable future.  If we use the RDF dollars to support Transportation, within approximately five years the RDF will be gone, and we will be back to eliminating transportation, cutting teachers and quality programs again to pay for CPF expenses. The voters have told the district twice – “balance the budget.” 

In an effort to solve the FTCSC financial crisis, Sen. Miller recently hosted a public meeting with representatives from several organizations just a few weeks before the first day of the 2011-2012 school year. Here are some of the options that were generated from that meeting and Sen. Miller supports.

The first option was to use our Rainy Day Fund.  I have already addressed reasons for rejecting this option.  Options 2 and 3 involved an interest free loan for $6 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund or from the Common School Fund.  Six million dollars will only fund transportation for two years and would have to be repaid within six years.  This is really no different than spending our Rainy Day Fund

The fourth option is a new law that allows school corporations to restructure their debt by extending it over an additional 10-year period of time.  This is similar to stretching a 30-year home mortgage to a 40-year mortgage. This sounds good at first until you realize that the additional 10 years of interest payments will add an additional $150,000,000 to FTCSC’s debt, according to the State’s own budget consultants. To do this, a community petition and remonstrance process would need to be supported. This proposed debt restructuring would result in everyone paying more taxes for a longer period of time. That is not what the taxpayers in Franklin Township want. 

The fifth option is to work with the legislature to pass new laws that would alleviate the tremendous negative impact of property tax caps on FTCSC (the highest in the State).This is not a new option and is one that FTCSC has been trying to do for several years. FTCSC has been asking the legislature, including Sen. Miller, to address the discrepancies in the school funding formula for years. And when the impact of the property tax cap became clear, we pleaded for assistance. The legislature failed to respond or help.  Sadly, state funding for FTCSC only slightly improved after the district joined other school corporations in suing the State for lack of uniformity in funding. 

I encourage you to call me if you have questions regarding any of these issues. I can be reached at 862-2411.  I also encourage you to call Senator Pat Miller at 894-7023 to ask for her support to restore adequate funding for education and services to families in FTCSC.

And, please take the time to thank Franklin Township educators who continue to provide your kids with the best public education in Marion County.

Sincerely,

Walter D. Bourke

 TODD COLIP

Senator Miller,

I am going to try to keep this short...

It is my opinion that your letter I received last night is absolutely irresponsible for someone that we are counting on for leadership at the state level.

First of all there were not 300 people at the July 26 meeting.  I was there as well.

Secondly...your comment about the selling of the buses $1 is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts. You know good and well that there is so much more to it than that...There are several other terms of the agreement that do more good than harm.  These things help me draw my conclusion that this letter is a feeble attempt at making sure the folks that are uneducated on this subject become angry, remain uneducated and they will hopefully not direct their concerns to you and your peers at the state level for the huge part they have played over the years, in helping to create the catastrophe that we are dealing with in Franklin Township.  For someone in your position to attempt to place the blame of this situation solely on the shoulders of Dr. Bourke and the current school board members in completely thoughtless.  I have been close to this situation for the last 7-8 years and know (as well as I hope you do) that there are several factors that have lead us to this point. (State, local, school corp, unprecedented growth, tax caps, housing bubble, flawed funding formula, lack of commercial development, overall economy, previous admin., overspending, apathy) While it would be hard to get the entire public in Franklin Township to sit still long enough to allow someone to give them all of the facts... I take great exception to the fact that you have used this situation to try to gain votes from the people that don't know all of the facts.  If you are looking to appeal to the uneducated voter, that is your choice..., it is a gamble.  I can tell you with great certainty, based on feedback that I have been involved in for the last 24 hours, that you have lost numerous votes from educated members of this township and I am one of them. 

This is another reason that I am also a huge advocate for TERM LIMITS!!!

Respectfully,

Todd Colip

First Day Of School... Transportation Gridlock 8.10.11

Hello everyone. 

Ahhh, the first day of school - Smiling teachers… Excited Children… Gridlock across Franklin Township.  I can’t remember a time where there was so much media coverage of Franklin Township.  My only recollection might have been when I stepped off the bus as a 5^th grader at Wanamaker Elementary many, many years ago on the first day of school desegregation with cameras everywhere covering the historic first day.

I did some research last week because I have been mad about transportation challenges in Franklin Township for the last 10 years, but for a reason different than all of you.  Here’s a history lesson that will be short and sweet.  Actually, much shorter than the traffic lines we must navigate to deliver our children to school.

I began my Franklin Township School Board service in July of 2004.  In September of 2004, the Franklin Township School Board submitted an appeal to the State of Indiana for additional transportation funds.  It had made the same request of the State of Indiana in both 2002 and 2003.  Each year it received help from the State.

Let me paraphrase the comments made by Rod Caldwell, who was at that time the FTCSC Business Manager.  The comments were made at the school board meeting in September of 2004.  He indicated “it had been a struggle to keep up with additional costs due to growth as the state placed limits on the amount of money that could be raised.”

Then, another experienced school board member commented “if the legislature did not make a change in the funding formula, particularly in the area of transportation, the corporation would have no choice but to continue to appeal.”  The board member explained “the FTCSC School Board had spent a great deal of time talking to legislators about the need for changes in the funding formula and to date there had not been a favorable response.” 

Those legislators at the time included current State Senator Pat Miller.  Some things never change, do they?

Another board member immediately followed with the comment that “the state of Indiana was punishing Franklin Township schools for being a growing school corporation.”

Rod Caldwell explained “a change had been made just prior to 2004 and the State of Indiana had chosen to no longer contribute anything in the education funding formula for transportation as that funding burden was being shifted to property tax payers.” 

However, the state retained control of the cap and the amount of the increase schools could receive for transportation when asking their tax payers for help. That year the amount was 4.3%.

But that's not all.  Mr. Caldwell went on to explain that “FT had over 500 new students that year and the school corporation needed 10 new buses.  Thus, Franklin Township could not provide transportation on the revenue received from the tax rate approve by the state of Indiana.  It was growing too fast.”

In that same September 2004 meeting, Mr. Caldwell explained that “state funding for transportation was opposite what it should have been because school systems with flat or declining enrollments still got the 4% increase in transportation revenue.”

Let me summarize in one sentence.  The system was badly broken in 2004.  And, it hasn’t changed since that time.  FTCSC has been fighting this battle regarding transportation every single day of every single year for these last 10 years.

I’ve been involved in it.  I understand it.  Most of you don’t have the history or choose not to educate yourselves.

Today, particularly on this first day of school, the transportation system in Franklin Township is badly broken, but for a different reason than in 2004. 

I believe Franklin Township might well have been a reason for the original creation of property tax caps.  Follow me here. 

As the state of Indiana looked for ways to fund less of education over the last 10 years, what they did for a period of time was allow the school systems to raise the dollars (that the state was taking away) through additional property tax levies.  Transportation is the perfect example.  The State chose to no longer include transportation of students in the funding formula, but they would allow schools to raise tax revenue from property tax payers. 

So what happened?  Property taxes continued to escalate as these funding shifts took place, particularly in Franklin Township, where the tremendous growth in the schools demanded more resources... And the state said “we aren’t giving the funds to you, but we will change the funding mechanisms to allow you to go get it from your tax payers.”

So, then the tax caps were enacted.  I am not in any way opposed to tax caps.  They are much needed and much appreciated, but just like the system was broken 10 years ago, these sweeping changes made by the state did not take into account the negative effect on a school system such as FTCSC. 

So here you are on this day furious at the most negatively affected public entity (school or otherwise) in the state of Indiana… when they’ve been fighting this transportation funding battle every single year for AT LEAST the last 10 years.    

Most of you sit in traffic and only look at the events of the last 4 months with no understanding of the past.  You see the end of a valued social service, a privilege we had come to expect.  It is terrible for ALL of us as parents of Franklin Township students, but transporting "our" kids isn't the law.

There’s a 1.2 billion dollar surplus at the state level right now.  Part of that came from the almost 6 million dollars in funding they took from Franklin Township in the last 2 years due to cuts in the funding of public education at the state level.  Direct your anger in the right place people.  Go talk to Pat Miller and Mike Speedy.  Ask them to fix the problems they have participated in creating.  In Pat’s case, she has been part of the problem for years and years.

Have a great day!

Dr. Bourke Radio Interview Message 7.29.11

Hello everyone. 

Most of you are likely not aware of Abdul Hakim Shabazz, it’s not entirely surprising.  He is an attorney who has a little, local political talk show during the morning drive time hours.  I hate to give this gentleman any mention, but FTCSC Superintendent Dr. Bourke called in to his radio show yesterday morning to address accusations that there was an inappropriate relationship involved in the bus transportation process currently taking place with CIESC, the outsourced bus provider.

Aside from the sarcastic remarks of the radio host, I ask you to please listen to the responses of Dr. Bourke.  Do not listen to the tone (because he is furious at the accusations against him), but please listen to the comments and explanation.  Listen to the message.  Listen to his answers to the questions posed to him. 

Having served on that FTCSC School Board for 4 years, I will tell you CIESC is the perfect outsourcing solution to keep costs down for parents… I know it may be hard to believe that the costs are being kept down, but they really are.  First, by leasing our buses to CIESC for $1, this keeps parent costs as low as they can possibly be kept.  Second, there is a clause in the agreement that says the buses can only be used for Franklin Township students.  Third, it allows Franklin Township to buy them back for $1 if circumstances would change.

Just like I told you months before the referendum that you’d be screaming about bus fees AFTER you chose to vote NO, I am now telling you FTCSC is only the first school system to do this.  There are 8 other CIESC type organizations across the state, which are actual “not for profit” state agencies… and any school system that participates automatically has its Superintendent inserted onto the Governing body.  They say Dr. Bourke is the chairman.  That isn’t even true.  He has not been the chairman for over a year.  

In this particular state agency here in Central Indiana, I can almost promise you at this moment that Decatur Township will be next in line.  My understanding based on an email I received the other day from an employee of that township is they have done almost everything necessary to make this outsourcing happen for them beginning in the 2012-2013 school year… with guess who?… yes, CIESC.

When you are listening to this exchange in the attached link, please make a special effort to listen to Dr. Bourke’s description of the educational rankings of Franklin Township Schools.  They are in the 80^th percentile in the state for ISTEP testing and rank as the #1 or #2 school system in Marion County for every single ISTEP category.  That is incredible! 

Oh… and that is why you will drive your kids to school or pay to have them ride the buses… because you moved to Franklin Township for the outstanding teachers and administrators that work with your kids on a daily basis.  It surely isn’t for the infrastructure provided by the city (which you will soon see when you drive yours kids to school) or the educational support lacking from the state level.

Finally, one more note about this talk show host.  He is irresponsibly trying to organize a boycott of school on September 16^th.  He has chosen this date because it is the ADM count day.  He thinks this is the only day when the state funding is determined based on the number of kids attending school.  His theory… if everyone stays home, the schools will get millions of dollars less and that will show those school leaders in Franklin Township. 

First of all, if he were right, which he is not, that would do wonders for the education of our kids now… wouldn’t it?  Cut a few more million dollars out of the budget for one of the best school systems in the state…and one of the least funded!

I’d love for some reporter to call this idiot to the carpet and ask how he can be so irresponsible in his actions on behalf of the kids in the Franklin Township Community.  Clearly, that isn’t going to happen.

Fortunately, he is not right.  You would think an attorney would have his facts straight before he embarrasses himself on his own radio show by encouraging parents to keep their kids out of school.  The truth is… if you really want to hurt Franklin Township Schools (and indirectly the children that attend since that seems to be his objective), you need to keep your kids home every day and not let them attend school until after September 16^th.  At that point, you’ll probably have child neglect charges filed against you… so have at it!  Otherwise, just know if your kids are attending school any time up until that point, they get counted.

Here is the link to the radio interview:

http://www.newstalk1430.com/

Have a great weekend!

Transportation & Town Hall Message 7.25.11

Hello everyone. 

On Tuesday evening, July 26^th, State Senator Pat Miller and State Representative Mike Speedy will be participating in a Franklin Township Town Hall meeting to answer questions and discuss their positions regarding the recently enacted transportation fee through Central Indiana Education Service Center.

 

Last week, Senator Miller was kind enough to elaborate on her position regarding the transportation fees.  She clearly expressed her position to oppose such fees and indicated she considers them to be a tax during tough economic times.  I’m sure she will expand upon her feelings and you can attend this event to listen to her share the thought that charging bus fees is an unconstitutional activity.

Since I will be unable to attend, I’d like to share information with you I am certain will not be part of the dog and pony show the elected representatives will share.

I told all of you in messages beginning on March 7th of this year exactly what would happen.  Transportation would go away… people will scream.  Having served 4 years on this school board in Franklin Township, I have personally watched the state fulfill its funding obligation less and less annually since my involvement began in 2004.  Senator Miller has been Franklin Township’s representative in the State Senate prior to that and ever since.  I have found her in my personal interactions to be polite, but somewhat dismissive.  In saying that, I mean that she would always seem politely engaged in the annual conversations with the Franklin Township School Board, only to go off and do nothing that was truly supportive of this school system’s needs.

In the days following the recent referendum vote in May, I wrote to each of you that the township residents had spoken and the direction was quite clear.  By an overwhelming defeat of this second referendum request, residents were telling the school board and the school administration to get their financial affairs in order.  The residents clearly said, “We are not willing to pay any additional tax dollars to keep the schools open or keep bus transportation in place.”  The message to Dr. Bourke and the board… balance your budget and work with what you are already being given.

Dr. Bourke and the school board heard this message loud and clear.  Eighteen months ago, the school board voted to keep schools open an extra year with hopes this most recent referendum would succeed.  This year, upon the referendum failure, they closed the schools… and as they stated they would do for months leading up to the referendum vote, they maintained their commitment to eliminate transportation because of the lack of funding available to support it.

In case you are not aware, schools are not required to offer transportation with the exception of the requirement to transport special needs students.  For example, Speedway schools do not offer transportation.

For those interested in reality and not the political games we see all around us these days, let me share some specific events in the days following the referendum you are not aware of.  When I sent my last message out to each of you, it had an interested reader who wanted to get together and meet… State Representative Mike Speedy.   I believe his interest was in response to my telling you it was time to turn attention to the place where the problem has resided all along… with the leaders at the State House.  I told him I would be happy to meet, as long as the meeting included Superintendent Walter Bourke and School CFO Chad Blacklock.  I also told him I was only interested in talking about the reality of the situation and not some of the nonsense numbers he had shared with me to tell me how great of a job he and Senator Miller were doing for Franklin Township.

That meeting took place at 8am on the morning of May 19th at the Starbucks on Southport Road.  He invited another guest… Senator Pat Miller.  The conversation was direct, but actually quite cordial.  The situation from the view of the school system was explained to them.  They were given an outline reflecting the massive deficit funding projections for 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 in the debt service fund, the capital projects fund, the transportation fund, the bus replacement fund and the pension bond fund.

They were told that the 37% loss of property tax dollars when the 1% property tax cap was enacted was devastating to Franklin Township Schools in particular, likely more so that any school system in the state.  They were told that Franklin Township would be the only school system in the entire state of Indiana to have to pull dollars from the General Fund  to pay debt service based on the loss of property tax dollars (or in more simple terms, dollars that are supposed to go into the classroom will be used to pay debt).

Here are the specific responses from the elected officials in that meeting:

State Representative Speedy wanted to know how we can heal the community after the referendum split.

State Senator Miller stopped short of interrupting him, but immediately followed with… and I quote, “What I am concerned about is how we can get buses running to pick up kids for the first day of school.” 

Dr. Bourke said that was his main focus as well.  He shared his efforts to “outsource” bus transportation to a third party servicer.  Yes, the conversation focused on the specific group that will be handling the transportation this year… CIESC  (the Central Indiana Educational Services Cooperative).   A number of schools in Central Indiana work with CIESC to share resources and it’s a valuable partner to school systems.

Dr. Bourke then shared that there was a past opinion from the Attorney General that indicated they might find such outsourcing to be unconstitutional, yet there was another state statute in place being used as the basis for the effort.  Senator Miller said she would place a call to the Attorney General that very day because the buses needed to run.  She then said she would begin placing calls to key legislators to see if anything could be done.  She noted it would be difficult in that they were out of session, but she would begin looking for opportunities to help Franklin Township in the next legislative session. 

At one point in the conversation, I made a comment to her about the appreciation we had that the funding formula was changed in this last legislative session to give Franklin Township some much needed help in the coming years (since they finally made the change to have the money follow the child), but she needed to understand the state was still underfunding FTCSC such that there was no hope of saving transportation because there were no dollars to support it.  I then went on to share with her that Franklin Township is only the first to take on the bus transportation issue because within days of our failed referendum (and prior to this Starbucks meeting), Decatur Township released to the press an announcement about a major cut back in the number of stops buses would make in transporting students.  Again, my message to her… Franklin Township is only the first… just like the “pay for play” policies other schools engage in now after Franklin Township had to be the first to implement the practice.

Her direct reply to me was that Franklin Township was different than any other district and in a far worse situation.  She used a percentage that is related to property tax credits and where other challenged districts throughout the state had percentages in and around 40%, she told me Franklin Township was at 174%.  She said people at the statehouse were very aware of the affect on Franklin Township and no other school system’s situation was near as bad.

So, that meeting wraps up with a commitment by Senator Miller and Representative Speedy to go and see what they could do to help.  They were going to talk to Luke Kenley, the legislative leader when it comes to education.  They were going to talk to other state officials.  They were going to set up a meeting and get something done to help.  Nobody knew what that might be yet, but the intent to help was clear.

Fast forward a few weeks… a meeting takes place with school officials and several state leaders, some legislators and some from the Department of Education, as well as various other state agencies.  Skipping all of the details, the end result of that meeting was Franklin Township was told there would be no more help and no more money.  They were told to spend their savings and they were asked why they hadn’t claimed to be a school system in financial duress so they could cut all of their teacher salaries by 5% across the board to free up dollars to provide transportation.

Here is my response… what in the world are these people thinking?  Now, I may be in the minority and so be it, but why in God’s name are government leaders and legislators telling Franklin Township to spend its savings and forget about balancing its budget?  Did they really say that after the community voted and demanded the schools balance their budget?

I know the school system has $17 million dollars in savings.  I also know there will never be another dime added to that.  No debt can be refinanced.  No money is there to move to savings.  There will be deficits every year into the foreseeable future and the state directly told Franklin Township you will get no additional money to help with your transportation problem.  I know there is NO money in the budget for building repairs such as roof leaks or problem with a boiler in a building.  The school board is aware of this and directed Dr. Bourke to keep contingency dollars set aside… these rainy day funds are the only contingency dollars this school system will ever have.

It’s amazing to me that the state recently revealed a billion dollar surplus and announced bonuses will be given to state employees… and they are praised for being responsible and great managers of state funds.  Franklin Township School leadership announces that it has balanced its budget, kept more teachers than originally planned and is making the tough decisions to remain financially viable for years to come, yet they are attacked for it.

I heard a statistic last week that the top 1% income earners in the United States pay an amount equal to 96% of the population in our country.  In this recent national debt ceiling / budget debate, it has been suggested that these top income earners pay even more.  So the question there is how much should they pay… more than 97% of the country… or 98% of the country… or 99% of the country combined?

Here, the situation is this… Franklin Township loses over 3 million dollars every year it offers bus transportation.  So, to those of you who say they have to provide transportation...  Should they do it just for 1 year… or 2 years… or 3 years?  How much money do they need to lose and how much of their savings do they need to spend for it to be enough for you?

I suspect most of you don’t care about the financial security of the school system.  I suspect most of you think they should cut another 5% of teacher pay… never mind the incredible results our teachers have been able to attain to make this a leading public school system in Central Indiana… and never mind the effect another 5% would have had on Franklin Township’s ability to attract the best educators.  Dr. Bourke and the Franklin Township School Board are only doing what they think is best to be responsible financial stewards - just as you asked them to do.

So, I will end with asking you… if you experience tough times at home in your personal budget, do you intentionally set up your expenses to exceed your known revenues and then intentionally plan to set up a budget that makes you live daily off of your only savings?  That is exactly what your state leaders want Franklin Township Schools to do.

On Tuesday night, why doesn’t somebody have the guts to ask them what they plan to do to help with the problem at the state level?  Why doesn’t the Franklin Township community ask them why it is okay for them to cut FTCSC funding by 2.5 million dollars for consecutive years when times are tough at the state level, but they want our school system to spend our only savings to provide transportation they refuse to adequately fund?  Why is it congratulatory for the state to keep a billion dollars sitting, but Franklin Township should have to spend its savings instead of making tough decisions and cuts?

You need to push back on your legislators and do it now.  At this time, Senator Miller has jumped the fence and will attack the schools to save her political future, especially since her district has been redrawn and most of her constituency resides in Franklin Township.  When will someone make her feel some of the pressure community members feel today.

She will tell you how this bus fee is a tax.  It is not.  Your taxes are capped to only 1% and that is what put Franklin Township in this mess.  Your taxes will not change.  This is a user fee.  If you don’t use the service, you don’t pay the fee.

It is a terrible situation for all involved, including myself as a parent of two daughters in Franklin Township schools.  It is hard on the parents.  It is hard on the schools who have to find a way to get all of these car riders in the building, while searching for partners to help create and maintain a viable bus transportation program. 

Here’s an idea… instead of telling your state senator how bad this school system is, why don’t you ask Senator Miller and Representative Speedy what they plan to do at the state level to help Franklin Township Schools.  Make them accountable.  Tell them if they spent less time on the school voucher program and more time focused on helping to support the public schools they are elected to represent, these issues might get addressed.  And, be sure to let them know that you are aware that not only is Franklin Township the most devastated public school system in the state as a result of the decisions at the state level, but it may well be the most devastated public entity of any kind in this state. 

You won’t be telling Senator Miller anything she doesn’t already know.  She shared it with me at the Southport Road Starbucks on May 19th.

And, by the way, these state leaders know if the relationship with CIESC works out, every school system around will try to outsource bus transportation.  There is no question.  Schools are in the business of educating kids and the costs of transportation are crippling.  Clearly the state funding isn’t in place.  Decatur Township was the first besides Franklin Township to take some steps to cut back transportation, but they won’t be the last.

Thanks for your consideration!