Marion County Democrats

Democratic mayoral candidate Melina Kennedy said Thursday she would appoint a chief education officer, provide grants for early childhood education and expand literacy programs as part of her education platform.

"Improving education outcomes is not only the right thing to do for our children," Kennedy said at a campaign stop before the North Downtown Sertoma Club, "it will lead to tangible progress on a range of other issues that we all care about.

"As educational outcomes improve, the crime rate falls, poverty is lessened, and more of our neighbors can get good jobs."

Kennedy is challenging Republican Mayor Greg Ballard in the Nov. 8general election. Ballard's campaign spokeswoman, Megan Robertson, said the mayor already has taken a lead with public education.

"Mayor Ballard has already expanded the city's Office of Education Innovation, and there is no question about our chief education official's level of importance in the mayor's office," Robertson said. "This is all just another example of Melina Kennedy talking while Mayor Ballard is actually doing." Christine Marson is interim director of Ballard's Office of Education Innovation.

Kennedy said the chief education officer would oversee the administration's efforts to improve education, expanding the role of the Office of Education Innovation director. Envisioned as a member of her cabinet, the education officer would focus on charter schools, early childhood education, outreach to public schools and development of new initiatives.

Kennedy also reiterated her commitment to dedicate $150 million from the sale of the city's water and sewer utilities for an endowment toward grants for early childhood education, as well as crime prevention and economic development.

For the education grants, Kennedy called for a three-year, $15 million initiative to identify preschool providers and award grants to improve their services and to provide tuition credits for families. She also wants to provide more literacy programs, including at IndyParks facilities and area health centers and clinics.

Kennedy said she developed her plan after meetings with community and business leaders, educators and parents. She has discussed but has yet to weigh in on whether a change in governance at Indianapolis Public Schools is needed, including mayoral control. Ballard has opposed mayoral control over all IPS schools, though he has said he would petition the state Board of Education for the right to oversee turnaround efforts at any struggling Indianapolis schools taken over by the state.

Reaction to Kennedy's education platform among Sertoma members was mixed.

Dick Smith, 68, a Republican who lives on the Southside, thinks the mayor should step in to help schools. He's just not convinced Kennedy is starting in the right place.

"I think we have got a lot of work we need to do on our kindergarten program before we work on the pre-kindergarten program," he said.

Chuck Corbin, 67, a Democrat who lives Downtown, said Kennedy has good ideas -- but he thinks education comes down to strong parenting.

"We still have to get parents to support sending kids to school," he said.