As I hinted in my last column, the complexity of religion and school law is mind-boggling. For instance: a high school commencement ceremony is an official event of a governmental body. Is it legal if a student such as a valedictorian includes a prayer in their speech at that event? Easy answer: the student’s First … Read more
Every few years, property taxes shove their way to the front of Hoosiers’ buckets of concerns. The General Assembly generally responds with some kind of fix, and the yelling becomes quiet grumbling until the next surge. In 2008, responding to an outcry largely inspired by pricey high school football stadiums in Carmel and Franklin Township, … Read more
Despite what many people have come to believe, public schools are not hostile to religion (or more specifically, to the complainers’ personal faith). But schools do have to be neutral about belief. And the Supreme Court has repeatedly confirmed that schools must be neutral, no matter how much the communities housing those schools may disagree. … Read more
Throughout 23 years as a school board member, I was involved in bringing about a long list of things that improved and enhanced our district’s efforts to educate young people and support the overall economic health and common-sense development of our community. I’m proud of much of what we accomplished as a board and the … Read more
More than a few elected officials in Hendricks County have never appeared on a ballot, and that frustrates more than a few voters. “If we didn’t vote them in, they shouldn’t be able to tax us.” Sorry you feel that way, but the law is the law. In Indiana, the law says that when a … Read more
Think your local schools are staffed by too many administrators who make too much money despite the fact they don’t really contribute anything useful? I mean there’s an assistant superintendent of this, director of that — when you have principals, teachers, and custodians, what else do you need, right? It’s been a few years since … Read more
“We’ve brought a petition signed by over 100 residents, so you have to do what we want you to do.” It happens from time to time. A group of citizens upset about something goes around the area collecting signatures, then presents them to a government board with a demand that the board immediately take whatever … Read more
In a recent column, I mentioned that Greenwood has what’s known as a Riverfront District. It’s one of several Indiana communities that established a riverfront district after the General Assembly created the concept back in 2004. Hendricks County has only one of them, and it’s been a part of Plainfield since 2021. Wait … did … Read more
It’s officially Quaker Boulevard, but anyone who has been around Plainfield long enough to have watched chilly youth soccer matches at Lovell Field still calls it New 267. There’s a nondescript building below the massive Plainfield water tower near the Boulevard’s north end. Its interior is divided into sections that look like no office you’ve … Read more
Every month, some of Hendricks County’s middle and high school students are summoned to their school nurse’s office, where they’re handed a small cup and asked to urinate into it. They’ve been selected to provide a sample as part of their school’s random drug testing program. While most people assume that the primary purpose of … Read more