Public Education
Public education is under attack. With a push towards the private sector and potentially new, unrealistic standards, students in the Hoosier state are not being given the opportunity to have a quality education. Private schools typically come with a higher price tuition fee, which in those cases, parents have the means to cover the cost. However, public school funding keeps getting cut and led to a significant teacher shortage, inability to construct new schools to allow for appropriate student to teacher ratios, and greater strain on families. Ultimately, this means our students are not getting the needed attention to be successful and if legislators continue to allow the system to be mismanaged eventually the Indiana education system will fail altogether.
Public education as a whole needs to be a priority to help the households that rely upon it; not only the low income households, but those that have a firm belief that public education is the best choice for their family. Officials said that the state of Indiana started the 2022-23 fiscal year with a surplus of $6,124,700,000. With such a significant surplus, it is concerning that it isn’t more apparent how it is being used in the schools. Teachers not only have the everyday expenses of living, just as everyone else does, but they are also required to cover their continuing education as well as materials for classrooms to help students.
The attack on public schools is not limited to the schools themselves, families are now targets. HB1093 dismantled work restrictions for children over the age of 14 under the guise of being another means to provide for their households. What these children need are not loosened work restrictions; these children need quality education and a safety network that allows them a better shot at life.
Current Representative, Mark Genda, believes, "The check follows the child," which is another way to say he doesn't support our public school system and wants to privatize it. This is also apparent with his voting record of YES to the aforementioned House Bills. Hoosiers, we cannot just stand by and watch the public education system collapse. If we want our future generations to be able to live their American dream, we need to give them a boost, starting with a robust, accessible, and equitable school system!
The leap project/iedc
LEAP, or Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace, is an industrial project in Lebanon, Indiana that was launched in 2015 by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC). The 10,000-acre project is intended to be converted into an industrial park that will include energy and water-intensive industries like microchip factories, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and data centers. The IEDC hopes to attract large investments to the region, particularly from the tech sector.
This may sound like a project that is looking to improve certain parts of Indiana, but it is only taking away from other cities or towns to put water into Lebanon's industrial park. This is driven purely by corporate profits and will only hurt Tippecanoe & Clinton County's water supply. HB1305 would limit water withdrawal to at least 10,000,000 gallons/day. There have not been enough studies conducted for the environmental impact that would have on the counties.
The IEDC spent $126M on Boone County land purchases to create the LEAP district. That is $126M of taxpayer dollars going towards corporations as well as taking resources from Hoosiers. This is another example of legislation only looking out for corporations. That money could have been spent on public education, infrastructure projects, and affordable housing which are a more pressing need for our communities.
Representative Genda has not come out in support of or against the pipeline. While he claims to want transparency from the IEDC, he will not publicly state what his intentions are with the pipeline. This is not an issue that the State Representative for District 41 can remain neutral on. Action must be taken to keep safe, clean water in our communities; to check the IEDC’s unmitigated power; and to craft legislation that requires environmental impact and feasibility studies to be conducted prior to multi-million dollar projects to be approved.
Water infastructure in small towns
Throughout Dan’s campaign he has been going to Town Halls for the communities in District 41. The major issue facing a lot of the small towns is the need for new water/wastewater treatment facilities. It costs approximately $5,000,000 to repair existing facilities in a small town. The state has proven they have funds to do several projects for corporations to come in, but no one is fighting to bring funds to the smaller cities. Without functional water/wastewater infrastructure in our small towns, they will continue to see a decline in population and income. This is not something we can stand for. Our small towns provide families with an affordable place to live; a safe place to raise children; a strong sense of community because we are able to know and love our neighbors; a place to retire to and enjoy a new season of life. We can combat the epidemic of people moving away from our small towns through re-investing in them to make them as vibrant as they once were.
“Each town hall I have been to, minus Frankfort, everyone has said they do not get support from Representative Genda. These small towns need the support and help from their state to fix their water issues, but Genda has been nowhere to be seen.” It’s time to stop voting for Representatives that do not care about our small towns and vote for a candidate that wants to breathe new life back into them!
Veterans
Having served in the Army National Guard as an Infantryman, Dan has witnessed first hand how veterans are treated and how the system lets them down time and time again. We need to stop cutting funding to the veterans and show we are truly grateful for their service. Soldiers have signed a blank check with their lives payable to America, now it’s our turn to ensure that service doesn’t go unrecognized.
