In Gary & Indy, Frustrations Bubble Up Over State Intervention
Gary Community Schools officials say they felt out of the loop on the Indiana Department of Education’s plans to assume management of one of its schools the state labeled as “failing,” reports our partner station Lakeshore Public Radio.
Superintendent Myrtle Campbell told reporter Steve Walsh she first learned of the state’s intention to appoint private education firm EdisonLearning to take over Roosevelt Career & Technical Academy from a phone call 30 minutes before state superintendent Tony Bennett made the public announcement Thursday morning.
But while Gary officials seemed resigned to the likelihood of the school’s takeover — especially after Roosevelt missed out on a school improvement grant earlier this year — it appears likely Indianapolis Public Schools is likely to send its state intervention frustrations to court.
Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Eugene White intends to sue the Indiana Department of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett over the state’s decision to reject an appeal of schools that could be taken over because of poor academic performance. In an email sent Wednesday night to school board members, White said appeals involving four of the district’s schools had been rejected and that he wants approval from the board to file a lawsuit, citing the “politically driven view of IDOE.”
“I truly believe that we need a third party’s opinion on this matter. We can not receive a fair decision from IDOE,” White wrote in the email.
The Indiana Department of Education will announce how it plans to intervene in six Indianapolis Public Schools that have been labeled “failing” schools under Public Law 221 at a press conference at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The state’s options range from shutting the school down to revising its education plan.
