IDS Thursday, March 21, 2024
INSIDE, P. 3
Gov. Holcomb signs Senate Bill 202
Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
MCCSC decides superintendent buyout in 48-second meeting By Nadia Scharf
njscharf@iu.edu | @nadiaascharf
MCCSC Superintendent Jeff Hauswald’s $229,000 contract buyout was finalized at a 48-second special meeting March 6, a move reportedly criticized by Indiana’s public access counselor. Now, the MCCSC has under 3.5 months to find a new superintendent for the 2024-25 school year. The special meeting was streamed live on YouTube, but with no sound. A transcript was posted on BoardDocs. In it, Board President April Hennessey calls the meeting to order, announces there’s no public commenters and explains that the meeting was called “to take action on Dr. Hauswald’s contract and modifications to the contract.” The “modifications” were not explained at the meeting, leaving members of the public who were attending confused. The board approved the modifications — a contract buyout that left the MCCSC without a superintendent for next school year at a sixfigure cost — unanimously before the meeting was adjourned, less than a minute later.
The board issued a statement after to explain that Hauswald and the board agreed to a buyout of the remaining two years of his contract. The statement did not include the $229,000 cost. Hennessey said she is contractually bound and couldn’t speak on the reason for the separation beyond the statement. Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt told the Herald-Times that releasing a statement after an unclear open meeting defeats the purpose of the open meeting. He also criticized the lack of explanation for the district’s separation from Hauswald. “That's the kind of thing that needs robust discussion,” Britt told the HeraldTimes. Hennessey said the board didn’t discuss specifics of Hauswald’s contract at a public meeting because it was a personnel issue, which is its standard policy. The board followed the advice of its attorneys, she said. “People are always going to want to know all parts of everything, and that is just not always how it works,” Hennessey said. “In most organizations, you do not have access to
IDS FILE PHOTO
Students board busses at Bloomington High School South on Sept. 13, 2021. The MCCSC board held a 48-second meeting to buy out superintendent Jeff Hauswald’s contract.
people's private personnel records. That's just the way it goes, because there are increased liabilities when you release that.”
Regardless of why the superintendent was released, decisions regarding a new superintendent will have to be made at the next
board meeting on March 26 due to timing. Hennessey said the board hasn’t decided whether they will start searching for a new
What polling reveals about Indiana’s politics Story and graphics by Andrew Miller
ami3@iu.edu | @andrew_mmiller
As Indiana’s May 7 primaries grow closer, Emerson College Polling released some of the first nonpartisan polling of the races. Released March 7, the poll’s crosstabs provide insight to the state’s politics going into the 2024 general election cycle. The poll surveyed 1,000 individuals from March 2-5 and has a margin of error of +/-4.2%. For the Republican primary, 526 individuals were polled. Here’s some takeaways from the poll’s results: Republican gubernatorial primary In the Republican primary May 7, voters will select one of six candidates to run for governor in November — Mike Braun, Suzanne Crouch, Brad Chambers, Eric Doden, Curtis Hill and Jaime Reitenour. U.S. Sen. Mike Braun holds a commanding lead of over 20% in the Republican gubernatorial primary, though there are many undecided voters. However, Braun could potentially pick up many in that camp, as the crosstabs show many undecided voters breaking for him on several major issues. On crime and public safety, 54% of respondents said they trusted Braun to do the best job out of all candidates. On taxes and the economy, 55% of respondents said they trusted him most. All other candidates received between 2-15% of respondents on these issues. Braun's support among respondents lowered in education, with 47% of respondents saying they trusted him most to handle the issue. Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch gained support on
her prospective handling of education, with 22% ranking her the best on the issue. However, Braun had the most support from undecided voters — 38.2% who said they trusted Braun the most on education, compared to 25.4% who ranked Crouch the highest. These numbers suggest that gubernatorial candidates besides Braun will have high cliffs to climb, even on issues where they have relatively more support. The coalitions between candidates also show small divides. Of respondents supporting Braun, 92.6% said they would back Donald Trump. Just 5% said they supported Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary (the poll was conducted before Haley dropped out). But of Crouch’s supporters, 68.6% said they would support Trump and 31.6% said they would support Haley. Among all respondents, 78% said they would support Trump while 14% supported Haley. Crouch’s supporters were also more likely to support Joe Biden in the general election, with 21% saying they would vote for him. Only one of Mike Braun’s supporters, 0.6% of the total, said they would vote for Biden. This supports recent polling from Quinnipiac University, asserting roughly 37% of Haley primary voters would vote for Biden in the general. On the issues, a majority of respondents ranked the economy as their most important issue. However, Braun’s supporters were more likely to put immigration as their most important issue — 24.3% ranked it as their top priority.
Republican gubernatorial primary Republican Gubernational Primary Percentage of voters polled supporting each candidate. Mike Braun
33.6
Brad Chambers
5.2
Suzanne Crouch
7.2
Eric Doden
6.6
Curtis Hill
2.4
Margin of Error +/- 4.2% Source: Emerson College Polling - Created with Datawrapper
Republican Gubernational Primary - The Issues Percentage of respondents who said each canidate would do the best on select issues. Taxes and the Economy
Crime and Public Safety
Education
55.1
54.4
47
Mike Braun
9.2
Brad Chambers Suzanne Crouch
11.3
15 11.3
Curtis Hill
5.5
Jamie Reitenour
4.1
10.1 21.6
11.9
Eric Doden
11.6
12 8.1
5.3
2.7
4
Margin of Error +/- 4.2% Source: Emerson College Polling - Created with Datawrapper
Presidential race in Indiana Presidential Vote Percentage of voters polled supporting each canidate Trump
54.8
Biden
33.6
Undecided
11.6
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Indiana selected as No. 4 seed, to host tournament jamesdm@iu.edu | @DaltonMJames
43.3
Undecuded
SEE MCCSC, PAGE 4
By Dalton James
1.6
Jamie Reitenour
superintendent or if they’ll appoint an interim superintendent.
Margin of Error +/- 4.2% Source: Emerson College Polling - Created with Datawrapper
Percentage of voters polled supporting each canidate Joe Biden
Donald Trump
55.6
34.7
White or Caucasian
30.9
58.8
Black or African American
53.8
22.2
Asian
32.5
64.1
3.4
Other or multiple races
17.1
55.6
27.2
Undecided 9.6
By Christy Avery
10.3
averycm@iu.edu | @christym_avery
24
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb issued his only veto of this legislative session March 19, disagreeing with changes made to priority proposal House Bill 1002, which attempted to define antisemitism. The veto is Holcomb’s eighth of his eight-year stint as governor, which will end in 2025. House Bill 1002, authored by Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, attempted to address concerns about
Source: Emerson College Polling - Created with Datawrapper
Presidential Election Support by Age Percentage of voters polled supporting each canidate Joe Biden
Donald Trump
Undecided
18-29 years
42.3
40.5
17.2
30-39 years
30.7
49.5
19.8
40-49 years
28.3
59.6
12.1
50-59 years
28.7
61.2
10.1
60-69 years
35.7
57.4
6.8
70 or more years
37.7
55.9
6.4
OLIVIA BIANCO | IDS
Senior guard Sydney Parrish dribbles the ball up the court against Maryland on March 3, 2024, inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The Hoosiers were selected as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast University. All three games will be played inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana and Fairfield will face off at 1:30 p.m. March 23.
Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoes bill defining antisemitism
Presidential Election Support by Race
Hispanuc or Latino of any race
Indiana women’s basketball was selected as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament as the field of 68 teams was unveiled March 18. Despite the Hoosiers falling to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals March. 8, the selection committee determined the cream and crimson were worthy of a host spot. In the Round of 64, Indiana will take on No. 13 seeded Fairfield University. The Stags enter the tournament with a 31-1 record, defeating Niagra University in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship on March 16. The winner of the matchup between the Hoosiers and the Stags will take on the winner of the No. 5 University of Oklahoma and
Source: Emerson College Polling - Created with Datawrapper
SEE POLLING, PAGE 4
Bloomington's 7-Day Forecast
antisemitism, particularly on college campuses, amid the Israel-Hamas war. The original version of the bill included the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and its contemporary examples of antisemitism. These examples include “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel,” but do not include criticism of Israel “similar to that leveled against any other country.” SEE VETOES, PAGE 4
SOURCE: ETHAN STEWARD | ETBSTEWA@IU.EDU GRAPHICS BY: THE WEATHER CHANNEL
Thursday March 21
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47° 33° P: 0%
64° 37° P: 30%
49° 28° P: 0%
57° 41° P: 10%
66° 48° P: 20%
58° 36° P: 80%
56° 35° P: 0%