Hogsett proposes free or reduced-cost housing for teachers

Democratic mayoral candidate Joe Hogsett on Friday announced a five-point education plan for Indianapolis that includes proposals to expand early childhood programming and provide free or reduced-price housing as an incentive to attract teaching talent in urban areas.

Hogsett unveiled his “Indianapolis Way” plan during a speech to the Kiwanis Club of Indianapolis, where the former U.S. Attorney said he intended to focus on improving education as a way to address rising concerns over public safety in the city.

“Indianapolis has experienced a dramatic increase in our homicide rate, and a troubling rise in violent crime involving young people,” Hogsett said. “We cannot arrest our way out of these problems. If we are to turn back this tide of violence, if we are to avoid losing yet another generation of young people to the streets, the solution will not be found in police stations or courtrooms or criminal justice centers.

“Our city’s future lies in the classroom.”

One proposal, dubbed “Teach Indy,” would open up city-owned residential homes as a way to attract “high-achieving young teachers” from Indiana universities and colleges, as well as successful teachers who already work in Marion County schools.

The plan draws inspiration from a federal program that allows teachers to buy houses owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a substantial amount less than the listing price, as long as the teacher lives in the house for at least three years. Hogsett’s version would offer city-owned homes to teachers for free or at a reduced cost, as long as they live at the house for at least four years.

“We must recruit and retain the best teachers in the country,” Hogsett said. “Once recruited, teachers often find that the hardships and lack of support experienced in the most difficult urban schools outweigh those initial recruitment incentives.”

He called his plan a “significant way of taking those homes off the rolls of the city’s responsibility and into the hands of participating teachers.” Those teachers would have to meet certain criteria to qualify, such as finishing in the top 25 percent of their college class or having a “strong record of success” if they already have at least two years of teaching experience.

Hogsett also lauded a pre-K education program for children in low-income families that was championed by current Mayor Greg Ballard, adding that he wished to expand the program by working with Indiana lawmakers to find additional funding.

The proposal echoed one made by Hogsett’s Republican challenger Chuck Brewer in June, when Brewer said he wanted to encourage Gov. Mike Pence to expand access to pre-K education. The City-County Council voted earlier this year to fund the first year of the Ballard-backed $40 million scholarship program, which would provide 700 to 1,200 children from at-risk neighborhoods with scholarships for attending pre-K programs.

Following Friday’s announcement, Brewer issued a statement accusing Hogsett of shifting his position on pre-K.

“A few months ago Joe Hogsett wrote a letter publicly opposing Mayor Greg Ballard’s pre-K education plan,” Brewer said. “In fact, if Joe Hogsett were mayor today, more than 1,000 low income children per year would be missing out on pre-K education. I’ve been consistently committed to pre-K education and I will work to increase support at the statehouse so we can expand access for more families.”

But Hogsett spokesman Thomas Cook has said the Brewer camp is mischaracterizing Hogsett’s stance on the issue.

In a September op-ed to The Indianapolis Star, Hogsett opposed eliminating the homestead property tax credit to pay for early childhood education. Instead, Hogsett wrote that the city should fight for state funding of such a program — or, “if it is truly a priority to fund expanded pre-K before the state can take action, I believe interim local funding should be found within Mayor Ballard's proposed $1 billion budget.”

Among Hogsett’s other proposals announced Friday:

- Create a public-private partnership called the Indianapolis Mayor’s Scholars Initiative, which would provide mentoring and other support services to qualifying students as a way to increase local graduation rates and help those students better transition to post-secondary education. The program is modeled on Bartholomew County’s iGrad program.

- Bring together leaders from school districts, charter schools, law enforcement and other criminal justice experts to examine ways to reduce the number of out-of-school suspensions in Indianapolis.

- Create a working group of representatives from schools, neighborhood organizations, faith-based institutions and other child service providers to find ways to provide resources and education to children living in poverty.

Hogsett and Brewer face off in November.

Star reporters Brian Eason and John Tuohy contributed to this story.

Call Star reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @ jdisis.