By VICKI URBANIK

Accepting an invitation to speak at a legislative forum Saturday, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson praised the value of public education and called for an overhaul of Indiana’s property tax system as a way to move the state in a different direction.

Long Thompson spoke to a crowd of teachers and others attending a legislative breakfast at Chesterton High School sponsored by the Indiana State Teachers Association. All three of the major governor candidates, including incumbent Governor Mitch Daniels, were invited, but only Long Thompson showed up in person. Her opponent in the Democrat primary, Jim Schellinger, sent a representative.

Long Thompson, a former Porter County resident who once served on the Valparaiso City Council and in the U.S. House of Representatives, said she’s running for governor “to lead Indiana in a different direction.” She lamented Indiana’s economic standing, saying that Hoosiers used to be ahead of the country in incomes earned but have fallen behind.

She called for a comprehensive reform of the state’s tax structure, specifically citing tax law changes that would make it more appealing for corporations to locate their headquarters in Indiana. She also called for an increased commitment in development of renewable energy, citing not just ethanol but also wind and solar energy.

She criticized Indiana’s recent shift in taxation by eliminating the inventory tax and shifting the burden onto homeowners. She called this tax shift a “complete breakdown in leadership.”

Not surprisingly for an event sponsored by the state’s teacher organization, Long Thompson spoke mainly on the value of public education. She said education is critical for true economic development in Indiana, as she lamented Indiana’s “unacceptable” high school drop out rate and the emphasis on standardized student testing that leaves little flexibility for teachers.

She also spoke of her own upbringing on a Whitley County farm and noted that she was the first person in her family to go to college, where she eventually got a master’s degree and then a Phd. “Education is the thing that made the difference in my life,” she said. She also spoke of her own work as a teacher, saying that effective teachers practically have to be “like a rock star” in trying to connect with their students. “It was one of the hardest jobs I have ever encountered,” she said of teaching.

Schellinger’s representative, Rosemary Rehak, also spoke on the value of education, calling it the “bedrock of our democracy.”

“There’s no more important issue than the issue of public education in the state,” she said.

Posted 2/11/2008