The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page A13

1ST 2014 SECTION A FORWARD INDIANA Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE AND DELIVERY ISSUES: 1-888-357-7827 OR 444-4000 TO PLACE AN ADVERTISEMENT: 444-7000 ALL OTHER INQUIRIES: 444-4444 PRESIDENT PUBLISHER Karen Crotchfelt, 444-8131 k.crotchfelt@indystar.com EDITOR Jeff Taylor, 444-6160 jeff.taylor@indystar.com MANAGING DIRECTOR DIGITAL SPORTS Ronnie Ramos, 444-6166 ronnie.ramos@indystar.com OPINION CONVERSATIONS Tim Swarens, 444-6176 tim.swarens@indystar.com NEWS INVESTIGATIONS Alvie Lindsay, 444-6385 alvie.lindsay@indystar.com LIFE ENTERTAINMENT Amanda Kingsbury, 444-6223 amanda.kingsbury@indystar.com PLANNING PUBLISHING Jenny Green, 444-6245 jenny.green@indystar.com DISTRIBUTION CIRCULATION Bryan Sturgeon, 444-4152 bryan.sturgeon@indystar.com DIGITAL STRATEGY Patricia Franks Miller, 444-7189 patricia.miller@indystar.com INTEGRATED MARKETING SOLUTIONS Caroline Abeleda, 444-7003 caroline.abeleda@indystar.com FINANCE Meghan Miller, 444-8121 meghan.miller@indystar.com MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Doug Wilson, 444-8133 doug.wilson@indystar.com EDITORIAL BOARD Karen Crotchfelt, Jeff Taylor, Tim Swarens, Beth Murphy, Russ Pulliam, Erika Smith, Matthew Tully, Gary Varvel. Send letters with your name, address and phone number to: Letters to the Editor, The Indianapolis Star, P.O. Box 145, Indianapolis, IN 46206-0145.

Or to Submitting authors grant The Star the right to publish, distribute, archive or use letters in print, online or other format. Letters are subject to editing, to 200 or fewer words. what U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan had to say about the political climate sur- ounding education issuesin our state: has some very, very deep dysfunction right now, some fundamental challenges that I hope for the sake of kids that they can work Duncan said that back in January. And the dysfunction has only gotten worse since then.

The public face of the breakdown centers on the persistent, frequently petty arguments that pit Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz on one side and the state Board of Education, Gov. Mike Pence and the Center or Education and Career Innovationon the other. State Board meetings have devolved into tedious, hours-long affairs in which Ritz and board members frequently quabble over policy and procedural matters. Ritz, the only Democratic statewide officeholder in Indiana government, stormed out of a board meeting last year, and at one point even filed an ill-advised lawsuit against the board, which she chairs. Board members, all of them appointed by Republican governors, have sniped at Ritz on social media and in letters to newspaper editors.

In a letter to The Star last month, board member Gordon Hendry, a Democrat appointed by Pence, accused Ritz of creating on the board. hat chaos sunk to new depths on Aug. 6 when Ritz revealed she had reached a settlement in October with the testing companyat the center of widespread disruptions in adminis- ering the crucial ISTEP exams in 2013. Incredibly, Ritz inform the board of that development until nine months after the case was settled. Two days later, Ritz fired back at her critics with her own letter to The Star in which she accused the governor and his team of essentially lying about her record.

Arne Duncan had it right in assessing problems. kind of dysfunction is not good for moving education forward. When adults fight, kids he told reporters in Washington, D.C. art of the endless fighting is driven politics. Part by turf battles over who gets to set education policy.

And part by genuine philosophical differ- nces over how to measure student achievement, assess effectiveness and hold schools accountable for their performance. ut none of it helps the state achieve what should be its primary goals: ensuring that all students have access to a great education and helping more of them take full advantage of that opportunity. time for the adults in charge of education in Indiana, all of them, to step back, assess their own words and attitudes, and vow to start over in working together in more professional, respectful and productive ways. Do it for the communities they serve. Do it for the sake of their own reputations.

Most of all, do it for their primary onstituents: the children of Indiana. STAR EDITORIAL BOARD OPINION Dysfunction at the top Ritz, state feud hurts children hen I heard a new amphithe- a ter was coming to Downtown, I have to a dmit, I got a little excited. Not so much ecause I love music, but because the Near Westside is well overdue for positive development. he amphitheater would be built on part of the former General Motors Stamping Plant. an area long been overlooked by developers and where neighborhoods such as Haugh- ville, Hawthorne and Stringtown are severed from inner core by huge barriers the White River, IUPUI and hite River State Park.

hat all could change, thanks to a nother exciting development, the $30 million investment by the city, Lilly ndowment and IUPUI. It includes a renovation of the IU Natatorium and a makeover of West Street to create a ore pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare. But the biggest change when it comes to the Near Westside will be urning Michigan and New York streets from one-way to two-way streets that not only connect IUPUI to Downtown, ut that will more efficiently connect the neighborhoods on the other side of the river to Downtown. Connectivity is key. The proof is on the Near Eastside.

Take the Holy Cross or Cottage Home neighborhoods. These trendyhot spots are about the same distance from he urban core as Haughville; yet, they eem worlds apart. The difference is onnectivity. And, say the White River prevents it, because Eastsiders ave to contend with I-70 and I-65. We need to look at worked on the Eastside as we plan future devel- pment on the Westside.

On the Near Eastside, Cottage Home and neighboring Holy Cross have seen a resurgence thanks to successful developments, such as Artistry, which includes modern apartments and comm ercial space, and Highland Park, a single-family development of 18 homes that are selling as quickly as they can be built. Soon Cummins will build a new division headquarters on the former Market Square Arena site, which also will include a 28-story apartment tower. In short, the Near Eastside is seeing apid redevelopment, bringing new people Downtown. It happened overnight, and not nearly finished. The Legacy Project has helped, which began two years ago thanks to the Super Bowl.

As part of the project, abandoned houses were either torn down or re- abbed for new single-family housing. Sidewalks and roads have been imp roved, too. The Legacy Project, Highl and Park and other nearby projects all have been a catalyst for future devel- pment, just like the amphitheater and IUPUI improvements could be for the Near Westside. hese new developments are fostering community identity and connectivity, and they are more sensitive to the edestrian scale and provide better connections between Downtown and the residential neigh- orhoods to the east of the interstate. a lesson to be learned as improvements begin on the Near Westside.

Beebe is president of the Indianapolis Chapter of the American Institute of A rchitects. He is an owner of LANCER BEEBE on the Near Northside and a ongtime Downtown resident. This is a view looking east on the one-way Michigan Street on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis. The Near Westside will see a big change when Michigan and New York streets go from one-way to two-way, connecting not only IUPUI to Downtown but more efficiently connecting the neighborhoods on the other side of the river to Downtown. CHARLIE STAR NEW LIFE FOR OLD EIGHBORHOODS By Mark Beebe Beebe.