Chalkbeat Indiana Distorts the Truth About IPS Board Election Campaign Funding – Dr. Jim Scheurich

​ Originally posted 

November 3, 2016  

on

 Kheprw Institute 

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Jim Scheurich, Indianapolis citizen & IUPUI university professor

On Friday, October 28^th, the Recorder published an article by McCoy of Chalkbeat Indiana called, “Out-of-state money seems to be skipping the IPS board race.”

Community activists have repeatedly made the point that major money from wealthy individuals and organizations from outside Indiana has poured into the IPS board election.  These activists have suggested that this “outsider” money is being used to “buy” the election for the Stand for Children-Mind Trust supported candidates: Odle, Arnold, O’Connor, and Moore.  (For more indepth info on the Mind Trust-Stand for Children operation, see http://kheprw.org/ips-research-group-presentation-on-the-mind-trust/)

This criticism has made Stand for Children-Mind Trust and their candidates defensive and nervous.  Could they actually lose the election like the Stand for Children candidates in Nashville, Tennessee did because they were violating campaign finance laws by hiding the expenditure of school board campaign funds? (http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/04/stand-children-loses-big-nashville-state-races/88047446/)

In response, Indiana Chalkbeat’s article title indicates that out-of-state money is no longer a factor in the IPS election.

This is simply NOT true and is in fact a distortion.

Stand for Children, which claims to be a positive community organization, is both a 501C3 and a 501C4 organization.  Having the 501C4 means Stand for Children, remember, that friendly community organization, can HIDE where money is coming in from and where it is being spent.

Because of the criticism of the Stand for Children-Mind Trust candidates receiving outside the state money for the 2014 election, Stand for Children has substantially decreased outside funds going directly to the candidates.  Instead, it is passing the outsider money through its 501C4 so we the citizens of Indianapolis do not know what it is really up to.

While we cannot say exactly how much Stand for Children is spending on the 2016 election, we do have some reasonable estimates based on the number of mailings they are doing for each of their four candidate and what we know of the cost for such mailings.

In our best and most conservative estimates, we believe Stand for Children is spending around $600,000 on this election.  Around $600,000!!!

 Here’s how we arrived at this estimate.  In 2012, Stand for Children did about 10 mailings for each candidate for four districts.  Each of those mailings cost about $7,000, which means they spend about $70,000 on each of the three district level candidates for a total of $210,000.  We assume they are doing similar for this election.

However, the citywide candidate mailings are much more expensive, somewhere around $30,000 each.  This year they have done at least five completely different ones for Odle, and we expect at least one more prior to the election for a total of $180,000.

If we add all of this together, we get $390,000 just for the mailings.  However, they are also producing yard signs, using other media, etc. so we conservatively estimate they are spending around $600,000, and it could be much more.

Remember in 2010, a citizen of Indianapolis could successfully run for the school board for $3-4,000.  In addition, we doubt that ALL the candidates not supported by Stand for Children and the Mind Trust are spending collectively more than $50,000.

If Chalkbeat Indiana, the Recorder, or any local news outlet wants to prove us wrong, ask Stand for Children, that friendly community organization, to open its books to the public.

Indeed, we would suggest there is a general failure of the local news outlets—like the Star, the Recorder, Nuvo, the TV stations—to investigate this issue.  It would seem to us that the local news outlets have a community responsibility to do this unless they are afraid of the powerful people and organizations backing Stand for Children and the Mind Trust, or the news outlets are being complicit in the hiding of the funding.

Local news outlets, don’t you feel a responsibility to push Stand for Children to open its books, to be transparent about where its money is coming from and how much is being spent on each of its four candidates?

Odle, Arnold, O’Connor, and Moore, what about you all?  If you are as committed to IPS students as you say, let’s make the campaign financing public and transparent.  Tell Stand for Children to open its books.  If you don’t, your so-called commitment to the Indianapolis community and its children is highly questionable.

If no one pushes Stand for Children to open its books, it looks like a bought election.  It looks like democracy is being destroyed by big money kept in the dark.  Dark money for a bought election?

Jim Scheurich is a professor at the IUPUI School of Education.  You can read his bio here.  

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Annie ain’t got no…interview??

Before I get started, let me first say that it was a pleasure to hear from three candidates this evening who interviewed for the board vacancy.  They were all smart, intelligent, capable people – well suited for a role in IPS governance.  I’d really be fine with any one of them joining the board.  That decision will be made tomorrow, and I’m already at peace with that decision, however the votes may go down.

There were four applicants, though.  Only three of the four were selected to interview tonight.  And in my humble opinion, the one candidate who was cut prior to the interview process was single-handedly the most uniquely qualified person in terms of sheer experience.

Annie Roof, who just ended a four year term on the board, and who served as the board president last year, was the fourth applicant, and she was denied an interview.

We did get emails in support of Annie.  Several, in fact.  We could have gotten hundreds, but I don’t think it would have mattered… No consideration was given to constituent support demonstrated in the emails, just as no consideration was given to the fact that Annie’s recent board experience would have allowed her to hit the ground running.

Some of you might think that I am advocating for a friend.  That this is personal on my behalf.  While I do indeed consider Annie a friend now, that friendship was not built with sugar and spice.  Annie and I had our share of disagreements in the time we served on the board together. Annie’s IPS voting record speaks to her independent streak – we certainly did not see eye to eye on every issue.  I find her ability to respectfully disagree and not hold grudges to be a rare, and refreshing quality.  If anything, her independence might have restored some balance to a board that is, at times, divided – without compromising the fact that there is a clear majority.

The meeting tonight in which we interviewed the candidates was sparsely attended.  Really, I think there was one single attendee besides the media.  Granted, there was a simultaneous meeting regarding teacher pay that probably trumped in order of importance for people who would regularly attend these types of things…but the 2016 election is quickly approaching.  Four seats (out of a seven member board) will be up for election in November 2016.   If you don’t know the politics of your public school board, now would probably be a good time to start acquainting yourself.

My thoughts are my own and do not reflect those of the IPS board in its entirety or any other organization.

If you’d like to contact me, I can be reached at:

gayle_cosby@yahoo.com