About 300, including Mayor Ballard, attended the Indiana Department of Education (DOE) feedback session in the Broad Ripple High School Gene Poston Auditorium on May 31, 2011. Dr. Tony Bennett, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, explained that Broad Ripple Magnet High School for the Performing Arts is in the fifth year of academic probation. In the sixth year, the DOE has five options as outlined in the Indiana Code:

Sec. 3. If the state board determines, after conducting the public hearing described in section 2 of this rule, that intervention will improve the education received by the affected students, the state board may implement one (1) or more of the following options:
(1) Merge the school with a nearby school that is in a higher category of school improvement under IC 20-31-8 and 511 IAC 6.2-6.
(2) Assign an individual or organization to operate all or part of the school.
(3) Implement the department's recommendations for improving the school.
(4) Implement other options for school improvement expressed at the public hearing, including closing the school.
(5) Revise the school's plan in any of the following areas:
(A) School procedures or operations.
(B) Professional development.
(C) Intervention for individual teachers or administrators

Dr. White was then allowed to present his alternate Turn-Around Plan 2011-2012 for the school. White's claim is that the school is actually in year two of the last turn-around and is showing improvement. White says the DOE did not recognize this action and reset the probation period due his leaving grades 10-12 to stay in the school to graduate without having to change schools. This plan says that progress must be made before the 2014-2015 school year or IPS will re-staff the school.

Dr. Bennett then opened the floor to attendees with comments, no questions were allowed, on which of the five options presented by the DOE would be desired. Each speaker had a five minute time limit. Tempers were on edge. At one point, when apparently a speaker exceeded the time limit (although my timing shows the event at only three minutes in), his microphone was cut off. Immediately an angry shout came from the audience, "LET HIM SPEAK! LET HIM SPEAK!" Dr. Bennett quickly responded to the shout with a very stern "Sir, I'm going to ask that you be respectful. We're going to be respectful of the speakers. I'm going to ask that you be respectful of the process. If you choose not to be, we will have you removed."

As would be expected at a feedback session about the possible state takeover of the school, there were no speakers in favor of the DOE position. Many of the speakers stated that they did not agree with any of the five options presented to them, but would prefer Dr. White's plan instead. The ones that did choose from the five, usually opted for #5.

A theme of the comments from the audience was a plea for consistency for the students. Speakers stated that about every two years there is a major reorganization of the school, disrupting the education process. Since the last IPS turn-around is only in its second year, many asked that it be given more time.

City-County Council member Joanne Sanders was one of the more direct speakers, even questioning the lack of diversity among the DOE members in attendance. Sanders said, "I have concerns about the five items. I have to ask myself whose interests are really being served. I have concerns about the demonizing of teachers that has taken place in the last several years...I believe teachers are self-sacrificing, are committed to our children, and they deserve the respect and honor that comes with the occupation they have chosen.

"...number 2, when I see special management team, I think of privatization and somebody coming in and driving an agenda that isn't for the betterment of the school but is for the betterment of perhaps a few employers.

"I'm very concerned about what is happening in our public schools, I'm not suggesting that change is not necessary, I believe the only absolute in life is change, but I don't believe that should be accomplished on the backs of our children."

At the end of the two-hour meeting Dr. Bennett concluded, "This is a period in our state's history where I have to say to you, as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, it's sad that we are here. It is sad that, in my opinion, we have a state law that has taken this long for us to begin to move school communities, school corporations, to action. And that is what we must do. Frankly, that is not comfortable. That does not make this job comfortable. It doesn't make the job of the state board comfortable. It doesn't make Dr. White comfortable. But we must act as we move forward.

"No one wants Broad Ripple to leave the list for intervention any more than I do. It is not in the state's best interest to run schools...Our hope is whatever solution is best for the Broad Ripple community, the children of this district, and the children specifically of this school, I would ask that we continue the outpouring that we had tonight...The time has come for communities to come to action around schools. We hope that state involvement continues to be a catalyst for that. We hope that setting high expectations and holding people to those high expectations is a consideration for that."