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
-
-
Merger off between Chamber, ECDC
Rush County Economic and Community Development Corporation Executive Director Jim Finan has announced that the Rush County Chamber of Commerce and ECDC will not be merging.
-
RCS adds to Rainy Day Fund
The Rush County Schools Board of Trustees met Wednesday night and, among other things, voted to move $550,000 into the corporation's Rainy Day Fund, which is basically the local school system's savings account.
-
Air Evac leaving Rushville base
Nearly four years to the day that Air Evac Lifeteam began operation from a Rushville base, the medical air transport operation will leave our community.
-
Teams sought for 2012 Relay for Life
Nearly a month after the annual kick off and three weeks before the first scheduled team captain meeting (March 1), local organizers are still hoping to expand the number of participants in this year's local Relay for Life.
-
Boys and girls basketball sign-ups underway
Sign-ups for the Boys & Girls Club of Rush County boys and girls ages five through second grade basketball will run through Feb. 29. These leagues will run the five Saturdays in March.
-
Youth in Philanthropy fund grant application deadline
Garry Cooley, executive eirector of the Rush County Community Foundation, has announced that the grant application deadline for the Youth in Philanthropy Fund is 4 p.m. March 1.
-
Lady Lions eliminate Lady Knights
The goal in the tournament is to advance and that is what the Lady Lions did Tuesday at Batesville with a 53-50 victory over South Dearborn.
-
The wonders of wood
Outside the wood shop door on Wednesday afternoons, kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Rush County line up for their turn inside the room where planks of wood become boxes, benches and shelves between 4 and 6 p.m.
-
Statehouse action resumes after Super Bowl break
After a time-out to accommodate out-of-town Super Bowl visitors, the Indiana General Assembly is back in session to tackle legislation that had been bottlenecked by a contentious labor bill.
-
Rice is Herman Freed Award recipient
Rush County Sheriff's Department deputy Alan Rice recently graduated from the Indiana law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Plainfield.
- More News Headlines
-
Merger off between Chamber, ECDC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
