Tony Bennett (superintendent)

Tony Bennett (born 1960) is an American educator and former government official.[1] A member of the Republican Party, Bennett was elected Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2008. He lost reelection to Democrat Glenda Ritz in the 2012 election.

Tony Bennett
Education Commissioner of Florida
In office
December 12, 2012 – August 1, 2013
GovernorRick Scott
Preceded byGerard Robinson
Succeeded byPam Stewart
Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction
In office
January 19, 2009 – January 23, 2013
GovernorMitch Daniels
Preceded bySuellen Reed
Succeeded byGlenda Ritz
Personal details
Bornc. 1960
Jeffersonville, Indiana U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)First wife (1981–mid-1990s)
Tina (1996–present)
Children4
EducationIndiana University, Southeast (BS, MS)
Spalding University (EdD)

Bennett was later appointed Florida Commissioner of Education in 2012, a position he held until 2013.

Early life

Tony Bennett was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana in 1960, and grew up in the neighboring town of Clarksville.[1] As a child, Bennett attended St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School before attending and graduating from Our Lady of Providence Junior-Senior High School in his teenage years.[1] Though Bennett later became a Republican, he grew up in a Democratic household, as his father was a blue-collar Democrat while his mother was a Kennedy Democrat from New England.[1]

Education and career

Bennett received his Doctor of Education and Indiana Superintendent's License from Spalding University in 2005; his Certification in Secondary Administration and Supervision from Indiana University Southeast in 1994; his Master of Science in Secondary Education from Indiana University Southeast in 1988; and his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from Indiana University Southeast in 1984. Bennett served as a teacher, coach and administrator.

In 2010, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce named him Government Leader of the Year and, in 2011, The Fordham Institute named him Education Reform Idol.

In 2016, Bennett was caucused by the Clark County, Indiana Republican Party to serve on the Clark County, Indiana County Council. The next day, he was unable to take office because he did not meet the residency requirement. However, the individual that was caucused on to the Council resigned months late, Bennett was re-appointed to the position. Following the election of his successor in 2018, Bennett was appointed to fill a different vacancy on the Council that occurred when Councilman Terry Conway was elected as Clark County Recorder.[3]

State superintendent

Bennett was narrowly elected Indiana State Superintendent in 2008, succeeding retiring four-term incumbent Suellen Reed. He was defeated for re-election in an upset in his bid for a second term. He made education reform a key platform of his tenure.

During Bennett's term, student achievement improved on several key academic indicators. Scores on the state's ISTEP+ exam, Advanced Placement pass percentages and graduate rates reached new highs.[4]

Some criticized Bennett and his wife in 2011 because of her involvement with a charter school oversight program at Marian University. The state awarded a contract to Marian to establish a "Turnaround Leadership Academy" to train transformational school leaders. Officials noted the contract was awarded through a competitive request for proposals process.[5][6]

Despite receiving nearly hundred thousand dollars[7] in out-of-state campaign money,[8] Bennett ended up losing the 2012 superintendent race to Glenda Ritz.[9]

Some controversy arose after the election because the current president of Purdue University, Mitch Daniels, claimed that teachers used illegal tactics to defeat Bennett.[10]

Controversy

In November 2018, it was reported that Bennett, who directed policies in 2011 that eventually led to a state takeover of the Gary Community School Corporation in 2017, has an ownership stake in the company selected by the GOP-controlled legislature to manage the takeover with a potential to earn $11.4 million.[11][12] After discovering the conflict of interest in Bennett's ownership in the management company, state and local lawmakers immediately called for a repudiation of the state's contract with his company.[13]

Allegations of wire fraud

Bennett was investigated for misuse of public resources in his 2012 election, which he lost to Glenda Ritz. In July 2014, the State Ethics Commission accepted Bennett's offer to settle the ethics charges by paying a $5,000 fine.[14] Publicly, the commission admonished Bennett for minor ethics violations, but internal documents obtained from the inspector general's office listed more than 100 potential violations of federal wire fraud law by Bennett or his employees.[15] In May 2015, Marion County prosecutors had reviewed the inspector general's internal documents, and declined to pursue charges against Bennett.[16]

Grade manipulation and resignation

In the fall of 2012, Bennett, as Indiana superintendent of schools, changed the "A–F" school rating system so that Christel House Academy, a charter school run by a major Republican donor which had donated $2.8 million to Republicans including $130,000 to Bennett himself, would receive a top A rating.[17] Emails suggested a focus on just the one school. Bennett's email quoted him as saying, "We have NO chance of advancing accountability during the session with this problem in front of us." Subsequent emails showed his staff working to get the charter school up to an A rating.[18][17] Bennett defended the rating change, saying the prior rating system disadvantaged Christel House because the school instructed students from kindergarten through 10th grade. Bennett said the same rating changes applied to other schools spanning nontraditional grade ranges.[19]

On December 12, 2012, the Florida Board of Education unanimously selected Bennett as the state's new education commissioner.[20]

On August 1, 2013, Bennett announced his resignation due to the scandal surrounding Christel House Academy, citing if he stayed on as commissioner it would "be a distraction to the children of Florida."[21][22]

Personal life

Bennett's first married in 1981, but he divorced his wife in the mid-1990s.[1] In 1996, he married his partner Tina, who he had first met the previous year when Tina was the girls’ basketball coach at Salem High School.[1] He has had four children, including a set of triplets, and three grandchildren.

On April 1, 2022, Bennett's daughter Elizabeth was shot and killed at her Sellersburg home. Police identified the suspect as Elizabeth's husband, Mac Lewis, and he was subsequently charged for her murder.[23] Elizabeth's 11-year-old daughter and her friend were inside the house during the shooting.[23][24] Lewis pled not guilty to the charges.[24]

References
  1. Wren, Adam (2011-09-01). "Tony Bennett Has All the Answers". Indianapolis Monthly. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  2. Chelsea Schneider; Brian Eason; Jill Disis; Tony Cook. "Archived". Indianapolis Star. Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  3. "Bennett caucused in to fill vacated at-large Clark County council seat". 19 December 2018.
  4. "IDOE: Compass". Compass.doe.in.gov. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  5. "Bennett's education ties" (PDF). The Journal Gazette. February 7, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  6. "Welcome to nginx!". Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  7. "Indiana Campaign Finance - Committee Detail".
  8. Kyle Stokes (September 17, 2012). "Bennett Campaign Nets $175K In Less Than Three Weeks | StateImpact Indiana". NPR. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  9. "State Superintendent Glenda Ritz: Longtime Educator, First-Time Politician". NPR. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  10. Maureen Groppe (December 1, 2012). "Gov. Mitch Daniels claims teachers used illegal tactics to defeat GOP state education chief Tony Bennett". Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on December 6, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  11. Carlson, Carole (27 November 2018). "Former state school chief Bennett aligned with Gary schools manager". Post Tribune. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  12. Carden, Dan (15 October 2017). "Emergency manager firm running Gary schools can earn $11.4 million in next three years". Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  13. Carlson, Carole (25 November 2018). "State senator calls for ouster of Gary schools emergency manager". Post Tribune. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  14. Claire McInerny (July 10, 2014). "State Ethics Commission Accepts Bennett's Settlement". StateImpact Indiana. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  15. Tom LoBianco (December 2, 2014). "Tony Bennett probe called for prosecution". Indianapolis Star. Associated Press. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  16. Jill Disis (May 15, 2015). "Former state schools Superintendent Tony Bennett won't face criminal charges". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  17. Tom LoBianco, Associated Press (July 29, 2013). "AP Exclusive: GOP donor's school grade changed". seattletimes.com.
  18. Tom LoBianco (July 30, 2013). "GOP donor's school grade changed". Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  19. Kathleen McGrory (July 29, 2013). "Emails show Florida education chief changed Indiana grading formula to benefit donor's school". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  20. Jeffrey S. Solochek; Marlene Sokol (December 12, 2012). "Former Indiana superintendent is Florida's new education commissioner". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  21. John O'Connor (August 1, 2013). "Florida education commissioner resigns over grade scandal". NPR. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  22. Lyndsey Layton (August 1, 2013). "Tony Bennett resigns Florida education post amid scandal". washingtonpost.com.
  23. "Mother shot, killed in front of daughter inside southern Indiana home". Fox 59. 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  24. "Not guilty plea entered for Sellersburg man charged in wife's murder". WDRB. 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
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