Saturday, September 22, 2018

There Never Was a Plan

Noblesville Schools are finding themselves in a similar position to Carmel a couple years back this November. They are seeking a referendum on the ballot, it's not for the exact same reasons that Carmel did. Back when Carmel did it, it was just to maintain their status quo as far as class sizes and everything else that came with it. It was a tax hike to prevent Carmel from losing what they already had.

For Noblesville this year, though, it's a bit of a different bag, but for good reason. The biggest factor is the mental health initiative. This makes sense because, as I don't need to remind you, there was a shooting by a student at Noblesville West Middle School on May 25 of this year.

It's no secret that mental health is just being recognized as a critical need for our schools. As a person who spent 18 years in the schools, I can assure you that this is not news to the teachers. I hate that it had to come to something like the shooting for this to be seen, but I am still thankful that it is now.

When the Noblesville shooting occurred at the end of the school year, I have to say that I was not at all surprised. I was numb. It was not a matter of if, it was a matter of when. I had been saying this for a long time.

The system is broken.

Good for Noblesville for wanting to do something about it. And don't get me wrong. I have no doubt that the rest of Hamilton County will soon follow suit. I have to think that Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, and San Bernardino have all done the same. I pray that the rest of Indiana would do the same.

For reasons that I plan to go into another time, I will always be a staunch supporter of public education. And I know that I speak for so many public school teachers when I say that it can use all the help it can get. Public education faces an uphill battle every day.

If anyone reading this has any way of supporting the Noblesville referendum, I urge you to do so.

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