Indiana House OKs 2-year state budget

Why is the story not found?? IndyStar sucks!

Wow! we paid for an extra session to get a budget through! Now all of the legislators can go home and celebrate by having a piece of that State Pie they wasted time voting for when they should have been working on a budget...

A budget had already been presented and the governor (who apparently thinks he owns the state congress) wanted more cuts. We could have been done with this a long time ago but Mitch kept bickering about keeping the surplus that we don't have.

And Bauer, in the interest of compromise no doubt, started the special session by introducing the same one year budget that had failed to garner any support during the regular session.

Bauer wasn't happy with a budget that didn't spend every dime in the state coffers.

Funny that noone mentioned that the extra billion dollars that Bauer wanted to spend wouldn't have been there at all if Bauer had his way not to allow Mitch to lease the toll road.

BS. That money is there because mitch doesn't spend anything on roads or anything else he is supposed to. Privatization is a stupid idea when it comes to public property like roads or public functions like schools.

BAuer could have introduce an absolutely perfect budget and the GOP would have still fought it. Make no mistake, the problem here was not the budget but the republicans under mitch who wanted to make the democrats look bad, especially since they weren't kissing mitch's well-ridden ass.

Eristotle wrote:

And Bauer, in the interest of compromise no doubt, started the special session by introducing the same one year budget that had failed to garner any support during the regular session.
Bauer wasn't happy with a budget that didn't spend every dime in the state coffers.
Funny that noone mentioned that the extra billion dollars that Bauer wanted to spend wouldn't have been there at all if Bauer had his way not to allow Mitch to lease the toll road.

New bridges over 465 at 10th street and Rockville Rd. and a new exit configuration at Washington St and 465....you must not get out much.

COULD HAVE, but DIDN"T...Bauer went back to the same budget that had been previously rejected.
That's not just arrogant...that's lazy.

Bauer's editorial in the Star this morning was misleading as another letter to the editor pointed out. And Bauer's letter came after the Star had spelled it all out for everyone to see that Bauer had been lying about the schools' budget.

Ooohh..two projects out of the thousands of miles of roads that are in deep disrepair. Not to mention hsi unnecessary highway to nowhere, that most people don't want and which is displacing hundreds of people for no reason.

Bauer introduced he budget as a starting point for discussion. If he actually wrote up one from scratch, not a single republican would have even looked at it.

Schools have been underfunded for a long time. They used ot have arts prog4rams, and other cultural resources. Now the only thing that gets funded are sports. Teachers make less than professional wages and work longer hours than most other professions that do not entail actually saving lives.

Eristotle wrote:

New bridges over 465 at 10th street and Rockville Rd. and a new exit configuration at Washington St and 465....you must not get out much.
COULD HAVE, but DIDN"T...Bauer went back to the same budget that had been previously rejected.
That's not just arrogant...that's lazy.
Bauer's editorial in the Star this morning was misleading as another letter to the editor pointed out. And Bauer's letter came after the Star had spelled it all out for everyone to see that Bauer had been lying about the schools' budget.

Cpetr13 wrote:

BS. That money is there because mitch doesn't spend anything on roads or anything else he is supposed to. Privatization is a stupid idea when it comes to public property like roads or public functions like schools.
BAuer could have introduce an absolutely perfect budget and the GOP would have still fought it. Make no mistake, the problem here was not the budget but the republicans under mitch who wanted to make the democrats look bad, especially since they weren't kissing mitch's well-ridden ass.
<quoted text>

You have proven yourself to be a partisan hack.

We need people who care about the USA and her citizens. Political parties are only thier to give you a mascot;they are both the same.

Cpetr13 wrote:

Ooohh..two projects out of the thousands of miles of roads that are in deep disrepair. Not to mention hsi unnecessary highway to nowhere, that most people don't want and which is displacing hundreds of people for no reason.
Bauer introduced he budget as a starting point for discussion. If he actually wrote up one from scratch, not a single republican would have even looked at it.
Schools have been underfunded for a long time. They used ot have arts prog4rams, and other cultural resources. Now the only thing that gets funded are sports. Teachers make less than professional wages and work longer hours than most other professions that do not entail actually saving lives.
<quoted text>

Mitch isn't responsible foe ALL the roads, just state highways.

I won't defend the I-69 route (do we really agree on something?)
I'm not a fan of DST, either.
Both come with the territory. Politicians are often a mixed bag.

We can thank Peterson for letting the city streets get in such disrepair (and now Ballard).

The Educators and the NEA have adequately proven that you can never spend enough on education...they should try spending some money on teaching.

I am aware of mitch's purview, and he has done virtually nothing for state roads and highways beyond a few pet projects. And evidently we do agree on the new highway, which is sucking up millions of dollars while he kvetches about education getting too much money.

You want good education? You have to make it worthwhile for teachers. As much as any of them love kids and love teaching, they aren't all willing or able to live on the low salaries available in our public schools. They are paying off student loans, continuing education, and even buying supplies for the rooms because the schools don't have any. Some schools have desks that are over 20 years old and have been repaired numerous times. Textbooks are out of date--and then they wonder why SAT scores are low.

The solution is not to throw money at the problem, but to use money to solve the problems. We had an excellent chance to bring down student class sizes but instead they chose to combine schools, thus increasing classes that were already at near capacity. We need MORE schools and smaller classes if you want to see any real improvement.

Eristotle wrote:

<quoted text>
Mitch isn't responsible foe ALL the roads, just state highways.
I won't defend the I-69 route (do we really agree on something?)
I'm not a fan of DST, either.
Both come with the territory. Politicians are often a mixed bag.
We can thank Peterson for letting the city streets get in such disrepair (and now Ballard).
The Educators and the NEA have adequately proven that you can never spend enough on education...they should try spending some money on teaching.

Cpetr13 wrote:

I am aware of mitch's purview, and he has done virtually nothing for state roads and highways beyond a few pet projects. And evidently we do agree on the new highway, which is sucking up millions of dollars while he kvetches about education getting too much money.
You want good education? You have to make it worthwhile for teachers. As much as any of them love kids and love teaching, they aren't all willing or able to live on the low salaries available in our public schools. They are paying off student loans, continuing education, and even buying supplies for the rooms because the schools don't have any. Some schools have desks that are over 20 years old and have been repaired numerous times. Textbooks are out of date--and then they wonder why SAT scores are low.
The solution is not to throw money at the problem, but to use money to solve the problems. We had an excellent chance to bring down student class sizes but instead they chose to combine schools, thus increasing classes that were already at near capacity. We need MORE schools and smaller classes if you want to see any real improvement.
<quoted text>

Textbooks out of date...what???...don't have the most recent whitewash of history???invented new numbers recently???new elements???new and improved way to parse a sentence???
No air conditioning??...I didn't have air conditioning...don't start school in the middle of August.
No Computer??...even the guys who invented the computer didn't have computers in their school.

Excuses, silly excuses.

It's funny that some of the worst schools as far as graduation rates still graduate pupils with Honors.

Mitch used as fair a funding formula as any.
There is a good reason that IPS has a decreasing enrollment and it's no surprise students are fleeing to the suburbs and flocking to Charter schools.

I was in grade school and studying history in 1965, and from then until I went to high school, textbook history stopped at WW2 and we never got to it anyway. And that was a parochial school. The state texts aren't much better today. Since it is all "whitewash", should kids not even bother to study history?

Like it or not, times have changed. Computers are PART of this world now. There are activities and references that a school can get online or on disc that they could not possibly get in a hands-on application. The idea is not to make education a trial but to get people to learn when they come from homes where education is practically abhorred.

Air conditioning is also needed because not only are there more k8ids per room (increasing ambient heat) but most kids have air conditioning at home and have no tolerance for heat. That's not even including the kids with health problems who could literally die if they had to be in a hot school all day.

There will always be kids who excel at school and those who will fail utterly. Neither are the set you concern yourself about. It's the huge group in the middle who need the help and the tools.

Eristotle wrote:

<quoted text>
Textbooks out of date...what???...don't have the most recent whitewash of history???invented new numbers recently???new elements???new and improved way to parse a sentence???
No air conditioning??...I didn't have air conditioning...don't start school in the middle of August.
No Computer??...even the guys who invented the computer didn't have computers in their school.
Excuses, silly excuses.
It's funny that some of the worst schools as far as graduation rates still graduate pupils with Honors.
Mitch used as fair a funding formula as any.
There is a good reason that IPS has a decreasing enrollment and it's no surprise students are fleeing to the suburbs and flocking to Charter schools.

Cpetr13 wrote:

I was in grade school and studying history in 1965, and from then until I went to high school, textbook history stopped at WW2 and we never got to it anyway. And that was a parochial school. The state texts aren't much better today. Since it is all "whitewash", should kids not even bother to study history?
Like it or not, times have changed. Computers are PART of this world now. There are activities and references that a school can get online or on disc that they could not possibly get in a hands-on application. The idea is not to make education a trial but to get people to learn when they come from homes where education is practically abhorred.
Air conditioning is also needed because not only are there more k8ids per room (increasing ambient heat) but most kids have air conditioning at home and have no tolerance for heat. That's not even including the kids with health problems who could literally die if they had to be in a hot school all day.
There will always be kids who excel at school and those who will fail utterly. Neither are the set you concern yourself about. It's the huge group in the middle who need the help and the tools.
<quoted text>

When you come up with a realistic argument for not being able to teach a child to read, I'll be back.

Cpetr13 wrote:

I was in grade school and studying history in 1965, and from then until I went to high school, textbook history stopped at WW2 and we never got to it anyway. And that was a parochial school. The state texts aren't much better today. Since it is all "whitewash", should kids not even bother to study history?
Like it or not, times have changed. Computers are PART of this world now. There are activities and references that a school can get online or on disc that they could not possibly get in a hands-on application. The idea is not to make education a trial but to get people to learn when they come from homes where education is practically abhorred.
Air conditioning is also needed because not only are there more k8ids per room (increasing ambient heat) but most kids have air conditioning at home and have no tolerance for heat. That's not even including the kids with health problems who could literally die if they had to be in a hot school all day.
There will always be kids who excel at school and those who will fail utterly. Neither are the set you concern yourself about. It's the huge group in the middle who need the help and the tools.
<quoted text>

Well, you at least hinted at the real problem, and when you come up with a realististic reason that IPS can't teach students to read, I'll be back.

OOOps, sorry about double post, got pagr expired notice so I tried again.

Reading skills begin long before a child reaches school. Parents who don't read to their children and encourage them to read on their own put their kids at a tremendous disadvantage when they enter school. Children who are raised by the tv aren't learning reading skills. You can't drop an illiterate 6yo into an overcrowded classroom and get good results.

Eristotle wrote:

<quoted text>
When you come up with a realistic argument for not being able to teach a child to read, I'll be back.

Cpetr13 wrote:

Reading skills begin long before a child reaches school. Parents who don't read to their children and encourage them to read on their own put their kids at a tremendous disadvantage when they enter school. Children who are raised by the tv aren't learning reading skills. You can't drop an illiterate 6yo into an overcrowded classroom and get good results.
<quoted text>

You're coming closer to the real problem but it's a cultural thing so I won't go there.

According to I-STEP scores, IPS students are on par with most others until 3rd grade, but the longer they are in the IPS system the farther behind they get.

Based on what? ISTEP? ISTEP is total crap. The idea that every student learns the same things at the same time or the same rate is ridiculous.

At about third grade, curricula get harder and also more diverse. There is less review and more emphasis on covering material instead of comprehension. ISTEP is great for rote learners but useless in finding out who UNDERSTQANDS the material presented. And once you get a broader range of disciplines with less time for individual attention, how can you NOT expect students to start feeling lost.

Instead of electric signs and stadium-quality gynmasiums, we need to open MORE schools with smaller classes to increase that individual attention. No classroom should be larger than 20.

As for it being "cultural", you're right. This state has a culture of anti-intellectualism and a disdain for "book-learnin'" I am always amused by these idiots who attack hispanics and asians for not learning english while they are barely able to speak it themselves.

I presume that is the "culture" you are referring to.

Eristotle wrote:

<quoted text>
You're coming closer to the real problem but it's a cultural thing so I won't go there.
According to I-STEP scores, IPS students are on par with most others until 3rd grade, but the longer they are in the IPS system the farther behind they get.

Cpetr13 wrote:

Based on what? ISTEP? ISTEP is total crap. The idea that every student learns the same things at the same time or the same rate is ridiculous.
At about third grade, curricula get harder and also more diverse. There is less review and more emphasis on covering material instead of comprehension. ISTEP is great for rote learners but useless in finding out who UNDERSTQANDS the material presented. And once you get a broader range of disciplines with less time for individual attention, how can you NOT expect students to start feeling lost.
Instead of electric signs and stadium-quality gynmasiums, we need to open MORE schools with smaller classes to increase that individual attention. No classroom should be larger than 20.
As for it being "cultural", you're right. This state has a culture of anti-intellectualism and a disdain for "book-learnin'" I am always amused by these idiots who attack hispanics and asians for not learning english while they are barely able to speak it themselves.
I presume that is the "culture" you are referring to.
<quoted text>

I'm not a fan of school consolidation.
Schools should be in the neighborhoods, and students should go to the schools in their neighborhoods (no busing).

I'm not a fan of I-STEP either, but in the absence of another way to test students, we're stuck with it.
I do think that testing at all grade levels is important. Lacking a state-wide test, some schools had fallen far behind.

Former state Supt. of Public Education, Suellen Reed, was caught off-guard when the first I-STEP scores came in, and I never voted for her again.

As you say, about third grade, subject matter becomes harder, but if a student isn't proficient in reading, the subject matter is nearly impossible.
Therein lies the problem. Too many fourth graders aren't reading at a fourth grade level, and there's no excuse for that.( alright, I give you dislexic and english as second language students)

I've been advocating a third-and a-half grade to ensure that all students are ready to learn.

Rote-learning is what grade school is, or should be about. The Basics.
High school is soon enough to start teaching critical thinking, but if we can't get grade school right, high school is useless. And for all too many in the urban areas in particular, that's exactly the case.

Eristotle wrote:

<quoted text>
Textbooks out of date...what???...new elements??

OOOps, I spoke too soon:

http://www.sciencecodex.com/newly_discovered_...