Submitted
On Tuesday evening, Jennifer McCormick (former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction), Fady Qaddoura (State Senator, District 30), and Melanie Wright (former State Representative, District 35) continued the Indiana Democratic Party’s “Small Town, Indiana” tour with a stop in Cicero.
The Small Town Tour is a 14-stop effort to highlight how Democrats are delivering for Indiana’s rural communities. In a press release, Democrats stated this record includes securing $250 million in broadband internet expansion, providing $540 million for childcare service providers, and fully-funding the state’s public school systems for the first time in over a decade – all thanks to President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Democrats shared this record with Hoosiers in rural communities, making good on a promise to meet voters where they are regardless of the ZIP code.
(From left) Hamilton County Democratic Party Chair Dayna Colbert, Fishers City Councilmember Jocelyn Vare, State Senator Fady Qaddoura, former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick, and former State Representative Melanie Wright. (Photo provided)
“Public schools and farmers are the heartbeat of rural communities and the backbone of Indiana itself, and Democrats are set to hold real conversations about how we are delivering solutions to the most-pressing problems facing Hoosier families in Indiana’s small towns,” said Mike Schmuhl, Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party. “Democrats have delivered since Day One of Joe Biden’s presidency, and we are ready to fan out across the state to share with families how policies like the American Rescue Plan have fully-funded Indiana’s public schools and expanded broadband internet access. Democrats are creating a better future for Hoosier families in rural America, while the other side appears to prioritize only extreme partisanship and division, a contrast we’ll campaign on into the 2022 elections.”
Indiana Democrats also called out Republicans for their upcoming partisan crusade against the state’s public school system – particularly the upcoming goal to make school board elections partisan. According to Democratic Party officials, this crusade is hypocritical on the surface because two years ago, Governor Eric Holcomb and the INGOP supermajority at the Statehouse voted to remove the Superintendent of Public Instruction office as a partisan, elected position. In fact, Indiana Republicans like Attorney General Todd Rokita have promoted extreme partisanship and misinformation about nonpartisan school boards all year in a strategy to divide communities and families.
“About 80 percent of poverty falls in rural areas. That’s directly tied to the Indiana Republican Party’s record on education. That’s the situation Indiana is in. It’s a perfect storm from a decade of poor policy,” McCormick said during the Cicero stop. “It’s not a good idea to make school board races partisan. But Republicans are making it a ‘priority bill’. It’s up to us to tell our neighbors about what’s going on at the statehouse.”
“More than $250 million in broadband and $100 million for mental health programs were delivered to Indiana because of the American Rescue Plan, including our rural communities,” State Sen. Qaddoura said. “Democrats are sick and tired of the culture wars. The Republicans share this [strategy] with the Hoosiers because they only care about the next election.”
“I’m so thankful for President Joe Biden and the American Rescue Plan,” former State Rep. Wright said. “Because of the Rescue Plan, schools saw more dollars delivered to our classrooms. It gives administrators a vision for their schools.”