The war in Iraq wasn’t the only thing U.S. Sixth District Rep. Mike Pence commented on while in Rushville last week for a town hall meeting at the Rush County Senior Center.
Following a question from Wanda Henderson, Pence said he does not support the idea of the federal government becoming more involved in local schools or public education in general.
Pence said that in 2001 he was one of 25 representatives who opposed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and that he still believes local schools should be run by local school boards.
“I didn’t go to Washington, D.C. to make government bigger and I didn’t go to Washington, D.C. so that bureaucrats in Washington could run our schools in Rushville,” he said.
Pence noted that NCLB was a five-year piece of legislation and said he will not support it should congress be asked to reauthorize it.
“My starting point is that we should not reauthorize the bill,” he said. “I don’t hear a lot of admiration for the red tape that has come along with this program. I’m going to be battling to pull back the federal government’s role in our local schools.”
Pence said he favors a block grant approach to education as far as the federal government’s involvement is concerned.
“The mantra here should be resources, not red tape. We will send block grants to the states. For example, we’re going to send the same amount of money to the State of Indiana to support education as we do now, but we’re not going to tell you what to do. If Indiana wants to use it to build charter schools, or if Indiana wants to use it to offer scholarships to inner-city kids who are attending schools where there’s an 80 percent drop-out rate and high incidents of violent crimes and drugs, and you want to give them a scholarship to go to a private school down the street ... whatever the state determines they can use that money for to innovate and improve schools, but not telling them how to do it.”
The congressman said that politicians are drawn to those things people are most interested in, but that isn’t always a good thing.
“I think there’s great peril when federal officials begin to involve themselves in those areas of our national life that ought to be governed at the local level, or the state level at the most. Education is chief among those things,” he concluded.
Rushville Republican Managing Editor Kevin L. Green can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 or via e-mail at kevin.green@cnhimedia.com. Add a comment to this story at www.rushvillerepublican.com.
News
Related Photos
Discussion
Pence supports local control of local schools
- News
-
-
RCCF Education Fund Grants awarded
The Rush County Education Fund Grants Committee recently met to review grant applications for the 2012 grant cycle and to make their recommendations to the Rush County Community Foundation's Board of Directors.
-
Commissioners hear of feasibility study
The Rush County Commissioners met earlier this week and heard a report regarding a feasibility study currently underway regarding the city possibly running an ambulance service out of the Rushville Fire Department.
-
Pool open
Waggener Community Pool will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The pool will be closed Monday and Tuesday and then open again Wednesday as was originally scheduled. Information: 932-7100.
-
Farmers Market
The Rush County Farmers and Artisans Market kicks off the 2012 season at 9 a.m. Saturday in the 100 block of East Third Street in downtown Rushville!
-
Good Samaritan recognized for heroic efforts
The lives of three complete strangers became intertwined the morning of Oct. 25, 2011.
-
Lion Project showing community pride
If you've been paying attention, you'll have noticed that new concrete lions are showing up all over town.
-
Waggener Pool opening Saturday and Sunday
In an update to this story, the City announced plans today to open Waggener Community Pool earlier than originally planned due to expected high temperatures over Memorial Weekend. Mayor Mike Pavey has asked that the pool be open this coming Saturday and Sunday. Hours will be noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The pool will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day and Tuesday, and open again Wednesday, May 30, as was originally scheduled.
-
Why do young white women risk cancer to be tan?
A CDC report out this month found that nearly one in three white women aged 18 to 25 had used a tanning booth in the previous year. White women aged 18 to 21 went the most often, averaging 27.6 sessions per year—that’s over two sessions per month—while nearly 70 percent said they had gone at least 10 times in the last year.
-
Collision lands driver in Indy trauma center
A Milroy woman sustained serious injuries in a single vehicle accident on SR 244 west of Milroy that was reported shortly after 1 p.m. Monday.
-
Todd resigns
Bill Todd (center) is pictured during a recent meeting of the Rush County Commissioners at which he formally announced that he had turned in his resignation as the Rush County Area Plan Director. Todd has served in the capacity of APC director since 1998.
- More News Headlines
-
RCCF Education Fund Grants awarded
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
