SOUTH BEND — Senate Bill 248, introduced by Indiana State Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger), could have changed how South Bend’s public schools are governed.
The bill would have replaced the elected governing board of the South Bend Community School Corporation with a board appointed by the Indiana secretary of education.
For a political party that frequently champions local control and parental authority in education, Rogers’ proposal raised an uncomfortable question: Why remove voters from the process?
Republican leaders have long argued that decisions about education should remain closest to the communities they affect. Former Indiana governor and Republican vice president Mike Pence once said that “education decisions are best made at the local level.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said that “parents deserve a seat at the table when it comes to their children’s education.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly argued that parents have the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children.
Taken together, the message has been clear: the people closest to the classroom should have the strongest voice in how schools are run.
That principle makes State Sen. Linda Rogers’ Senate Bill 248 difficult to understand, and impossible to ignore.
How the board would have been selected under SB248
The legislation proposed a nine-member nominating commission responsible for identifying candidates for the new board. That nominating commission would have been comprised of:
(1) One member appointed by the mayor of South Bend.
(2) One member appointed by the St. Joseph County board of commissioners.
(3) One member appointed by the South Bend Education Alliance.
(4) One member appointed by the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County.
(5) One member of the Ivy Tech Community College state board of trustees appointed by the Ivy Tech Community College state board of trustees.
(6) One member appointed by the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce.
(7) One member appointed by the South Bend–Elkhart Regional Partnership.
(8) One member appointed by the Home Builders Association of St. Joseph Valley.
(9) One member appointed by the South Bend Area Realtors Association.
Those nine individuals would not appoint the board directly. Instead, the commission would assemble a list of at least ten nominees in total.
From that list, the Indiana secretary of education would select the seven members who would govern the South Bend Community School Corporation.
Under that structure, South Bend voters would no longer elect the officials responsible for governing their public schools.
Money and politics potentially influencing the bill
Campaign finance filings show that Rogers has received substantial financial support from business and industry groups whose sectors overlap with organizations represented in Senate Bill 248’s nominating structure.
According to campaign finance records, Rogers has received contributions including:
– $78,035 from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce
– $58,500 from Hoosiers For Quality Education
– $29,959 from Associated Builders and Contractors Indiana/Kentucky
– $9,500 from the Indiana Association of Realtors
Her donor list also includes construction companies, development firms and business organizations such as Big C Lumber, Rieth Riley Construction and Selge Construction Co.
Rogers’ campaign materials also list endorsements from several statewide industry and advocacy organizations, including Hoosiers for Quality Education, Associated Builders and Contractors, the Home Builders Association of St. Joseph Valley, Indiana Farm Bureau AgElect, the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police, the National Rifle Association and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
Several of the same sectors represented among Rogers’ donors and endorsers mirror the types of institutions that Senate Bill 248 would place inside the nomination structure responsible for identifying potential school board members.
The question of local control
Under the current system, South Bend residents elect their school board members directly.
If voters disagree with the direction of the district, they can replace those officials through the ballot box.
Under the structure proposed in Senate Bill 248, that accountability would have been replaced by an appointment process involving institutional representatives and a final decision made by a state official.
South Bend’s schools needing reform is a legitimate debate. Public education remains one of the most consequential responsibilities local governments carry.
But removing voters from the process raises a different question.
For a political party that has spent decades arguing that education decisions belong closest to parents and communities, replacing an elected school board with a state-appointed one presents a contradiction that deserves serious scrutiny.
Under Senate Bill 248, the people who pay the taxes and send their children to South Bend’s schools would no longer choose the officials who govern them.
And that contradiction may be the elephant in the room.
Logan Foster
Logan Foster founded Redress South Bend and reports on local government and public records in South Bend and St. Joseph County. He is 31 years old and is majoring in finance. He is a Cleveland sports fan and a longtime season ticket holder of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
