State GOP facing choice in schools chief race

Among the choices state Republican delegates will face at the party’s convention in June is nominating a candidate best suited to regain control of the Indiana Department of Education from Democrat Glenda Ritz, who is seeking re-election four years after she pulled off a major upset against a GOP incumbent.

Republican power brokers are throwing their support behind Jennifer McCormick, a school superintendent from Yorktown, who they believe has the public school experience to right what they argue is wrong with Ritz’s administration.

But McCormick has competition for the party's nomination at the June 11 convention. Her opponent, tea party-backed Dawn Wooten, is traveling the state with a message appealing to dogged social conservatives — the belief that the state's academic standards remain too much like the controversial national set called the Common Core.

As McCormick goes into the convention considered the favorite to win the nomination, Wooten says she hopes this year’s political climate, dominated by a sense of dissatisfaction with the establishment, will give her the same boost it did Donald Trump in his clinching of the GOP nomination for president.

But one political observer senses delegates will give greater consideration to a candidate’s ability to compete over ideological purity in this year’s state superintendent of public instruction race. Or simply put: Who is better equipped to topple Ritz — a darling of the teachers unions — in November’s general election?

“Party activists are more concerned with winning,” said Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics.

McCormick points to her nearly 20 years in public education, first as a teacher and then as an administrator of a high-performing school district near Muncie.

Wooten, a college instructor from Fort Wayne, says she’s competitive because of her conservatism — specifically her belief that she’s more conservative than McCormick.

The winner will go into November’s race as Republicans have acknowledged and worked to repair a perception problem with public school educators. It’s a reputation damaged by Republican-led education reforms and tough political rhetoric under former schools chief Tony Bennett. Viewed as anti-teacher, those reforms caused a groundswell of anger that propelled Ritz into office in 2012.

“Republicans are still in shock that Tony Bennett got beat four years ago, so they really want to beat Ritz,” said Paul Helmke, a civics professor at Indiana University and former Republican mayor of Fort Wayne. “This is the battle — do you sort of double down on the conservative approach to education?”

Or does the party go with a traditional educator, he asked, in the likeness of former Republican state schools chief Suellen Reed?

For now, McCormick and Wooten are focused on the first hurdle — leaving the convention as Ritz’s competitor — and both have shown a willingness to play to party politics as they work to build support among delegates, whose membership includes many of the GOP’s most faithful members.

Their approaches in meeting that goal differ vastly, however, recently illustrated by how they chose to respond to the Obama administration’s directive on transgender students.

GOP schools chief candidates criticize federal intrusion on transgender rights

Both criticized as federal overreach the guidance requiring schools to treat transgender students, including in restrooms and locker rooms, based on the gender with which they identify. Schools that don’t comply run the risk of losing federal funds.

McCormick released a more cautious statement saying decisions on those policies are best left to the local level and that educators are responsible for creating "an environment that ensures the safety, well-being, privacy and dignity of students." Wooten took it a step further, saying transgender students should be required to use unisex bathrooms.

Not a ‘rubber stamp’ vs. ‘more open-minded’

In the run-up to the convention, McCormick has focused on the need to improve communication between the Department of Education and schools. She contends that information comes to school districts in a scattered fashion.

Meanwhile, Wooten has said one of her goals is moving the state back to a set of academic standards she thinks are truly divorced from the Common Core. Republican leaders in the state embraced, but then later repealed, the national set of learning benchmarks after they received support from federal Democratic leaders.

One delegate said she is supporting Wooten because she’s not a “rubber stamp.”

“It’s important to preserve local control, and with so many strings attached to the money coming from the federal level, it is becoming much more difficult for us to retain local control of our schools, and I believe Dawn is willing to reassess what the needs of our children are and how to best provide them with a solid academic education and will not be shy about being outspoken where the federal government is overstepping its bounds,” said Glenna Jehl, a member of the Fort Wayne Community School Board.

But Rebecca Kubacki, a delegate and former state lawmaker from Syracuse, said she supports McCormick because people are “really getting tired of the ‘say no to everything’ mentality.”

“It gets us absolutely nowhere. I feel like Jennifer is just more open-minded. Hey, we understand our school system isn’t perfect, but instead of slamming it all the time, what can I do to make it a better school system for kids — that’s what we need to focus on,” Kubacki said.

McCormick has shown the ability to raise money, securing donations from Hoosiers for Quality Education, an organization promoting the state’s private school voucher program; soon-to-be Ivy Tech Community College President and former Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann; and Eli Lilly and Co. CEO John Lechleiter.

School superintendent announces Republican run for state's top education post

Although she is backed by party stalwarts, her support of private school vouchers and charter schools might be where McCormick finds herself most at odds with her peers in traditional public education.

“I do agree with choice,” McCormick told IndyStar. “It’s important parents be given that opportunity to send their child where it’s the best fit. … I think across the state, people, again, agree with choice. They’re just watching the impact those funds have on public education dollars.”

McCormick would be a “huge upgrade” from current leadership, said Betsy Wiley, CEO of Hoosiers for Quality Education.

“Simply because she’s qualified. She has led a school district. She has led a building. She’s got staff. These are all qualities right now sorely missing in the department, and it’s affecting our schools, teachers and students by not having strong leadership there,” Wiley said.

But GOP delegate Monica Boyer, a social conservative who founded the Indiana Liberty Coalition, said McCormick’s voting history is troubling. McCormick selected a Democratic ballot in the 2012 primary but pulled the Republican ballot in 2014.

Boyer said she’s looking for someone not afraid to break away from the federal government.

“The bathroom issue is huge for me right now,” Boyer said. “What’s she going to do? How is she going to protect our girls and student privacy and safety? That’s a big issue. I didn’t really get a clear answer on that from her. I want somebody who is going to fight for our kids.”

Republican college instructor to challenge Ritz as state schools chief

Bringing respect back to the profession

Both candidates say much of the anger teachers felt during the Bennett administration has subsided. In its place, McCormick and Wooten told IndyStar, are a growing frustration with how Ritz has handled the office and a sense that teachers need to regain autonomy.

Ritz’s campaign brushed off the criticism.

“While both candidates fight over who is better equipped to carry out Mike Pence’s political agenda for our schools, Superintendent Ritz remains focused on her education agenda, providing students with the resources they need to succeed,” said Ritz’s campaign manager, Annie Mansfield.

During the past legislative session, Republicans became increasingly diligent about not adding fuel to ongoing criticism over the party’s treatment of teachers.

Republicans proposed a plan to allow superintendents to offer extra pay to some educators but killed it after intense backlash from the Indiana State Teachers Association.

Ritz and the state’s largest teachers union had long contended that teachers and schools should not be negatively affected because of a drop in 2015 ISTEP scores, arguing it was the first year students took the new test and results were expected to plummet. After an initial hesitance, Pence and other Republican legislative leaders agreed to it, with the governor even publicly thanking Ritz, with whom he has clashed in the past over education policy.

McCormick said teachers were concerned about the pace at which previous education reforms were adopted. She said some educators agreed with the reforms but criticized the delivery.

“They really want respect brought back to their profession. I think they would agree with assessment as long as it’s meaningful and manageable. I think teachers want autonomy,” McCormick said.

Wooten said she hears an overwhelming sense of frustration.

“They need their autonomy back. They need to be able to have the freedom to adapt in their classroom,” she said.

McCormick said she’s preparing for the convention by not taking anything for granted.

“I respect the delegates have a choice,” she said.

As of last week, Wooten had traveled to 61 counties in her bid to win against McCormick. She said her base of support is with tea party organizations, but she thinks she has broader support among “everyday parents.”

The state superintendent race isn’t the only decision before convention delegates June 11. Attendees also will nominate an attorney general candidate from a field of four contenders.

Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea.