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POLITICAL ACTIVITY
According to analyses of political action committee spend reports, ISTA’s dozens of PACs have constituted a large percentage of dollars spent to elect candidates and influence elections.
A study conducted by the Indiana Professional Educators, Inc. in 2001 concluded 97% of all contributions to legislative candidates went to Democrats. It also found the union distributed nearly $100,000 that election cycle to school board candidates, presumably to those that supported the union’s agenda and bargaining goals.
The study notes ISTA’s PACs are funded largely by payroll deductions, administered by local school systems.
More recently, a study of campaign finance records reveals large sums of money going to candidates endorsed by the union.
In the 2008 election, ISTA contributed nearly $180,000 to John Barnes (D-Indianapolis).
Vern Tincher (D-Terre Haute), whom the union called “a consistent leader to improve school employee retirement benefits,” received $84,900 for his election campaign.
Here is a full list of ISTA’s 2008 House contributions. Find a printable version (in PDF format) here.
ISTA Political Action Committee House candidate Contributions - 2008
| Representative | District | Contribution | ISTA PAC Name(s) |
| Terri J. Austin | Anderson | $8,800 | Circle Northeast; Indiana PAC for Education; Tri-County |
| Dennis T. Avery | Evansville | $3,000 | Evansville; South Western Indiana |
| John Barnes | Indianapolis | $179,500 | Blue River; Fort Wayne; Indiana PAC for Education; Metro-West; UNI-PAC Northeast |
| Kreg Battles | Vincennes | $50 | Indiana PAC for Education |
| Pat Bauer | South Bend | $20,000 | Indiana PAC for Education |
| Bob Bischoff | Greendale | $14,500 | Blue River; Indiana PAC for Education; Southeast |
| Sandy Blanton | Orleans | $20,400 | Evansville; Indiana PAC for Education; People Involved in Education; South Western Indiana; Teachers Rally for Education |
| Charlie Brown | Gary | $1,000 | Dunes Shore |
| Dave Cheatham | North Vernon | $16,000 | Indiana PAC for Education; Scott Jefferson Clark; Southeast |
| Bill Crawford | Indianapolis | $5,000 | Indiana PAC for Education |
| Ed DeLaney | Indianapolis | $32,000 | Indiana PAC for Education |
| Nancy Dembowski | Knox | $33,000 | Adams-Wells-Allen; Blue River; Circle Northeast; Dunes Shores; Fort Wayne; Indiana PAC for Education; |
| Northern Lakes; Northwest; St. Joseph Valley; UNI-PAC Northeast | |||
| Ryan Dvorak | South Bend | $1,500 | St. Joseph Valley |
| Craig R. Fry | Mishawaka | $33,000 | Indiana PAC for Education; Northern Lakes; St. Joseph Valley |
| Phil GiaQuinta | Fort Wayne | $500 | Fort Wayne |
| Terry Goodin | Austin | $12,500 | Indiana PAC for Education; Scott Jefferson Clark; South Central; Southeast |
| Ron Herrell | Kokomo | $8,500 | Indiana PAC for Education |
| Clyde Kersey | Terre Haute | $2,500 | Sycamore |
| Sheila Klinker | Lafayette | $3,000 | Tippewa |
| Chuck Moseley | Portage | $1,500 | Dunes Shore |
| David L. Niezgodski | South Bend | $3,000 | Indiana PAC for Education |
| Dennie Oxley | Taswell | $27,000 | Adams-Wells-Allen; Indiana PAC for Education; People Involved in Education; Scott Jefferson Clark; South Central; |
| South Western Indiana; UNI-PAC Northeast | |||
| Joe Pearson | Hartford City | $34,500 | Adams-Wells-Allen; Circle Northeast; EDUPAC; Fort Wayne; Indiana PAC for Education; Jay-Ran-Del; Raintree; Tri-County |
| Scott Pelath | Michigan City | $1,000 | Dunes Shore |
| Gregory W. Porter | Indianapolis | $5,000 | Indiana PAC for Education |
| Scott Reske | Pendleton | $52,500 | Circle Northeast; Indiana PAC for Education; Tri-County |
| Paul Robertson | Depauw | $22,000 | Indiana PAC for Education; Scott Jefferson Clark; South Central |
| Russ Stilwell | Boonville | $10,500 | Indiana PAC for Education; People Involved in Education |
| Mary Ann Sullivan | Indianapolis | $35,000 | Indiana PAC for Education |
| Vern Tincher | Terre Haute | $84,900 | Circle Northeast; Indiana PAC for Education; Metro-West; People Involved in Education; |
| Sycamore; Teachers Rally for Education; UNI-PAC Northeast | |||
| Dennis Tyler | Muncie | $300 | Jay-Ran-Del |
| Shelli VanDenburgh | Crown Point | $15,500 | Dunes Shore; Indiana PAC for Education |
Besides improved school employee retirement benefits, the union, an ISTA newsletter boasted it elected candidates who defeated “teacher competency testing” and “staff evaluations and merit pay” based on student performance.
Here is a clip of that newsletter.
'Direct correlation between their votes and amount of campaign money'
In the fallout of the 09-10 state budget, some legislators expressed frustration with the outcome. One, Jim Buck, a Republican Senator representing the Kokomo area, went so far as to allege a correlation between money and votes.
A Kokomo Perspective article (PDF here) from July 7, 2009 says:
Buck had harsh words for the legislators who voted no on the budget because of education. He said there is a direct correlation between their votes and the amount of campaign money they receive from the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA).
“That is easily covered by saying you are voting to protect the kids,” said Buck. “I understand the politics of voting no and voting for special interest groups and how easy it is to cover.”
And speaking of the budget resolution, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (PDF here) said this of ISTA's influence over the process:
The Indiana State Teachers Association is circulating an e-mail memo to its members in an attempt to clear up confusion.
It says that after legislators were made aware of ISTA objections, the budget conferees agreed to remove the language.
Apparently all it took from ISTA to get its way was a dirty look or the secret head nod...or perhaps the appropriate contribution, as Buck suggests.
Got a question? Have a beef with our information or statements? Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.