Bennett Spreads News On Efficient Education

Elizabeth Bailey

The Decatur County Republican Party gathered at A2Z Occasions last night for its annual Lincoln Day Dinner with Dr. Tony Bennett, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, as the speaker.

With entertainment from the North Decatur Singers and a wide array of local and state officials, the gathering of more than 200 people offered more than a meal and fellowship. Ray Geis, longtime chairman of the Decatur County Republican Party, was honored for his years of service to the party and the county.

“Look around at all of the Republican elected officials,” Representative Cleo Duncan (R-Greensburg) instructed the crowd, saying, “Thank you, Ray. Job well done.”

State Senator Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) also voiced her appreciation for Geis’ service to the party and the community, as did newly-elected Chairman Larry Meyer.

With both superintendents, representatives of their boards, principals from Greensburg, North, South, St. Mary’s and Good Shepherd Christian Academy in attendance, Bennett offered the keynote speech of the evening. He began by noting he is often accused of being a business guy, only concerned with profit and loss.

“I’ve never been a business guy,” he said. “My focus is on P & L, but not profit and loss. It’s passion and leadership.”

This year, he noted, 33 states will be cutting their educational spending. These states include every state bordering Indiana. The Hoosier state, however, has proposed a flat-line budget.

Recently, he reported to the group, he had the opportunity to listen to President Barrack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discussing the topic of education. Despite differing political allegiances, he said the pair made the most compelling educational reform statements he had ever heard.

“We have to do it better,” he said, summing up their perspective, which he noted echoes his own.

With much discussion about the stimulus package, education should expect a “tsunami of money,” he said. However, it is up to those in power to remember this is one-time funding and to use it to get ahead.

“We need the passion and leadership to spend it correctly,” he said. “We need to put the kids first and spend it on the children.”

Bennett referred to a fresh defeat of this idea in the Indiana House of Representatives yesterday.“They decided not to make our kids competitive in the world, placing the convenience of adults over the needs of children,” he said. “It was a clear mistake made by 51 members of the House.”

Bennett pointed out four points that will be central in moving forward with education. First, he said, Indiana’s children are in the competition of a lifetime. Children in China, he noted, wake up every morning knowing the best universities in the world are in the United States and knowing they want to attend them. American children need to be prepared to compete not just within their region but across the globe.

Second, he noted the educational system needs to stop asking for more money for education and focus on getting more education for the money. This concept extends into his third point. Schools, he said, are learning centers for kids, not employment agencies for adults. This means some teaching positions may need to be streamlined out of existence in order to better serve the students. After all, he said, the buildings were created for the children. Still, his final point brought home the role of teachers and the impact they have.

“Nothing is more important in the life of a child, with the exception of their parents, than inspiring teachers,” he said.

This means, he pointed out, that teachers should be the best, be compensated for the best and, if they should fall short of that mark, be assisted in finding other jobs.

“Indiana needs to be the best in the United States. Anything less is not acceptable,” he said.

Bennett encouraged the crowd to elect officials that stand up for conservative Republican values and remain strong on the subject of education.

“Be the standard-bearers for what we believe in,” he encouraged. “I ask you to have the passion and leadership to watch out for the next generation.”

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