By Leah Putnam.

If you participated in the 2012 Chicago Teachers Union Strike, you might recognize my sign (I’m the “union thug” holding it). After 10 years of teaching 5th grade for Chicago Public Schools, I recently moved to Indiana and began teaching 2nd grade. Moving from the third largest public school system in the United States with a strong union, to a “right-to-work” state has been quite eye opening. In Indiana, and across the country, politicians with corporate agendas are systematically dismantling public education. Through legislature, the voice and will of voters is being silenced, and many teachers are unfortunately throwing in the towel.

Governor Bruce Rauner’s recent executive order to end “fair-share” fees has me worried for public education and the children of Illinois. His union busting strategy is similar to Indiana’s “right-to-work” law, which have detrimental effects on a union’s ability to organize and represent members and the students they serve. Rauner’s attempt to take away mandatory dues isn’t to help workers; it is a tried and true way of gutting unions. Those fees are the reason IFT has the viable voice it needs to protect your rights and public schools from self-serving political agendas. Unfortunately, our politicians (and their wealthy connections) think they know what is best for our children. Around the country, the word “failure” is being used to justify handing over our schools to billionaires and various foundations looking to privatize education for profit, personal, political, and even religious gain. If Rauner weakens unions’ voices, the potential implications will impact wages, pensions, health benefits and the overall socioeconomic health of the communities where you live and work.

The effects of weakened unions are now overwhelmingly visible and undeniable in Indiana’s public education system. Indiana teachers have had tenure, due process, step and lane changes and so much more diminished under so-called “right to work.” Teachers in Indianapolis Public Schools haven’t had a pay raise or cost of living increase in over five years, as their workloads increase. But, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Below are the politically driven attacks on public education I have witnessed in Indiana, that I fear are Governor Rauner’s endgame.

Vouchers

Under the guise of “school choice,” vouchers divert millions of taxpayer dollars into private schools and religious organizations. Although these schools receive taxpayer dollars, they can deny admission to students based on religion, academic record, disability, English language ability and economic background. These vouchers promote segregation and do not benefit the population used to legitimize them. According to Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Indiana now has the largest voucher program in the country. This year, vouchers totaled over $116 million taxpayer dollars, making education separate and unequal in Indiana.

Charter schools

Nearly half of Indiana’s charter schools are doing poorly or failing. This is not surprising, considering they don’t require all classroom teachers to have teaching licenses. Regardless, the Governor is proposing to increase funds to expand charters. In fact, Josh Sigler with the Kokomo times writes,

The state is pushing to allocate 25 percent of new education funds to privately-operated charter schools, despite the fact that less than 4 percent of the state’s public schools operate under the charter umbrella.

There is also this scheme cleverly called, “charter shopping,” where low performing charters find a new sponsor before their existing sponsors move to close them. There is even a charter school in Indianapolis that is offering $100 gift cards to parents that refer students who enroll in the school. I can’t make this stuff up.

Death by a thousand cuts

Indiana’s funding to operate schools comes entirely from the state budget instead of locally based property taxes like other states. The recently proposed Indiana state budget cuts basic tuition funds for some of the poorest districts and increases funds for wealthier districts. For example, Gary is facing funding cuts of up to 19%, while affluent Carmel looks to have funds increased by over 10% over the next two years. Meanwhile, Indianapolis Public Schools is facing $32 million in budget cuts over the next two years, partially due to using outdated data to figure out funding.

Indiana is forcing those cuts while projecting a $2 billion dollar budget surplus in 2015.

Anti-schools legislation

In the first half of Indiana’s 2015 legislative session, there have been more than 100 bills proposed that could potentially impact teachers and public education. Many of these bills would undermine public education and encourage the expansion of charters and vouchers while simultaneously making those schools less accountable than public schools. In the fall, Governor Pence refused to sign a submission for an $80 million federal funding grant for early childhood education. This was a devastating loss for the children of Indiana, especially those living in poverty. State Superintendent of Education Glenda Ritz (the only democrat holding statewide office) is fighting for the office she was elected to lead. In 2012, National Board Certified Teacher Ritz was elected to the position of State Superintendent of Education. Although she received more votes than the Governor Mike Pence (over 1.3 million), Pence and state legislators are in the process of removing her as chair of the board and marginalizing her power as the head of the Indiana Board of Education. This political power move will allow the governor to seize control of education by eliminating checks and balances. Senate President Pro Tempore David Long went so far as to justify the removal of power from the State Superintendent by saying “Now, in all fairness, Superintendent Ritz is a librarian, OK?” This is a prime example of how right-wing Indiana politicians do not respect educators.

The fight for education

The attacks on State Superintendent Ritz have awakened and unified educators, parents and community members to fight back for public education in Indiana. During a rally recent rally to support public education at the Indiana Statehouse, Marisa Graham, a teacher and mother, said it best,

Most of us work with no contract. We’ve been stripped of having a voice in our profession. We’ve been stripped of having a seat at the table to make the decisions that affect our kids directly. We’ve been stripped of language that protects class sizes and provides necessary resources for our students to be properly educated and so much more. On top of that, no raises. We haven’t even been able to keep up with the cost of living, for years. We get no incentives, we get no respect or raise for acquiring all of the professional growth points and constant professional development. Let alone acquiring our masters or doctorate. It’s no wonder our young people are not entering the education arena. The number of teachers in our districts across this great state with five years of experience or less continues to grow to jaw dropping numbers. It’s scary, it’s scary for our children.

In Indiana, we’re fighting back with what we have. Our State’s weakening of our unions make this an uphill battle, but one from which we will not back down. The IFT is fighting everyday to save – and improve – public education and the public services that everyone in Illinois needs. Efforts to steal public sector pensions have been declared unconstitutional. Charter schools in Illinois are forming unions in droves. My former home of Chicago may elect a champion for public education, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia as mayor. Chicago is on its way to joining the rest of Illinois by making decisions through an elected school board. My advice is to be active in your union on national, state, and local levels as well as in your schools and worksites. Your power is your unity and with it, you can shape public education in Illinois.