Marion County Democrats

INDIANAPOLIS - At the League of Women Voters Candidate Forum just days ago, incumbent Republican Councilor At-Large Barbara Malone announced the Republican Party’s support for the consolidation of all school districts in Marion County, including Speedway and Beech Grove. 

A Tea Party Republican, a leader within the conservative Republican caucus and the sole sponsor of the unpopular 50-year parking deal, Barbara Malone has exercised significant influence within the Republican ranks.  This newest proposal, which has no resistance from her fellow Republican candidates, continues to highlight the extraordinary disconnect between Tea Party Republicans and the educational challenges facing the city of Indianapolis and its students.

“We cannot continue to allow this type of reckless proposal to determine how we approach education in our city,” said At-Large Council Candidate and career educator Leroy Robinson. “These issues are far too complex.  Mayor Ballard, Barbara Malone, and their Republican Party have bashed our public schools, taken money from the classrooms that need it most, and now they want a one size fits all school district.  It’s absurd, and we can do better.”

Marion County Democratic Party Chairman also weighed in on Councilor Malone’s remarks.

“Even former Republican darling and then-mayor Dick Lugar refused to consolidate local school districts,” Treacy said. “But with the Tea Party takeover of the Republican Party, both nationally and locally, we are seeing the remnants of sound judgment all but vanish.”

You can view Malone’s comments here at approximately the 1h:15min mark.