Dear Editor:

I got to meet Jennifer McCormick on Sunday; Jennifer is running for governor here in Indiana. She spoke about the issues that many Hoosier working families must focus on. She is a problem solver with a teacher’s heart and sensibilities.

Indiana is 47th in wage increases, 43rd in health care and within the United States, Indiana has the third highest maternal mortality rate among all reporting states at 44 deaths per 100,000 live births as of 2022. This is what our Republican gerrymandered dominance gets us; billions for economic development with no accountability to taxpayers of how their monies are being spent.

Our quality-of-life ranking is not so good either here in Indiana; economy we rank 43rd, education and health 37th, quality of life 33rd and safety 24th. Indiana had a total score of 49.40. For reference, Massachusetts posted a 62.65 score while Mississippi scored 39.77.

Is that “Deliverance” banjo music I hear instead of “Back Home in Indiana.” For those working families whose children attend public schools, your Republican legislators increased funding to charter schools a whopping 70%, where Indiana’s public schools are getting a meager 6% funding increase. I wish to remind readers that Indiana’s schools serve 1.2 million students, of which 1.03 million are enrolled in public schools.

More than 83,000 students currently attend Indiana’s accredited non-public schools, which comprises 7.4% of Indiana’s students. I also wish to point out if your children have any kind of disability learning or otherwise, charter schools don’t have to admit them, where public schools do.

Our public schools are an important part of many of Indiana’s rural communities. I think it’s time we elected someone that’s not a politician or businessperson, but someone who served this state in its most important capacity, a Hoosier educator. Jennifer McCormick wants to help solve the problems facing Indiana’s working families. I can’t think of a better candidate or a loftier goal than that. Jennifer McCormick has my vote.

Christine Fischer