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Republican Education Committee Member’s Daughter Named SBOE Vice-Chair

July 1, 2015 Comments 10 Gary Snyder

Republican Education Committee Member’s Daughter Named SBOE Vice-Chair

The State Board of Education elected Sarah O’Brien as the board’s first-ever vice chair. O’Brien is a fourth grade teacher at River Birch Elementary School in Avon and a card carrying member (obviously not a proud member) of one of the state’s two large teacher unions.

What make this appointment even more controversial is the fact that Mrs. O’Brien is the daughter of state Rep. Bill Fine, R-Munster. Rep. Fine is a member of the House Education Committee which worked on SEA 1 during the legislative session and was a co-aurthor of the bill in the Indiana House.

It must be nice to have Daddy co-author a law that creates a new political position just for you?

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Tim Mitchell says:

July 3, 2015 at 11:22 am

Bridgette Savage, you should know that in Indiana an election means nothing. Mike Pence has seen to that. But in a short time, Glenda is going to go through another election and then she can help Mike get another job, say maybe one as a radio disc jockey!!

Dan McConnell says:

July 3, 2015 at 7:37 am

The tone of the headline should be no surprise, I mean read that last line: ” It must be nice to have Daddy…” In all honesty- “Republican” for the first word reveals a knee-jerk bias that I share but is out of place in the attacks on public education (the real stuff: community led/driven, elected boards…). Neither Democratic or Republican have revealed themselves to be reliable representatives of the will of the people. A better choice might be “Need Someone to help you ignore voters? Recruit your own daughter!” That keeps partisan-politics out of it.
Just kidding, not really a better choice by much. This situation is interesting and maybe significant, and also in line with a pattern where husbands, wives, short-time “teachers” (no disrespect meant to her specifically-she may have ten yrs or more at it and a heart of gold-I don’t know) weave like snakes between non-profits/policy/edu-business. Now if there is ANOTHER child-of or brother/sister-of that gets some newly created position (Executive Vice Assistant of teacher elimination in favor of disposable Ipad driven labor-training for poor people)…Now THEN step up the reporting and editorial language game.

Sharon Wright says:

July 2, 2015 at 5:23 pm

Another person on the board taught with me at Lebanon High
School —and he referred to the two women in his department as his harem. Scary, huh? Wonder where this board will lead us teachers.

Ed Schmidt says:

July 2, 2015 at 9:07 am

It looks bad on the surface. But, the article is superficial and spun badly, too. Did her father use his influence to nominate her? – You have no way of knowing this. My experience with boards (as a former mayor) is that appointments are made to a board, and the board membership decides their leadership. Finally, do you really know anything about this person’s political affiliations, and her membership in a teacher’s union?…she may actually be a ‘proud’ member. Suellen Reed was a Republican, and a good State Supt during Evan Bayh’s administration. Let’s give Sarah O’Brien a chance – before pulling a ‘Glenda.’

Kristin Kramer says:

July 2, 2015 at 2:37 am

For those people taking issue with the word “Republican” in the headline…you’re still continuing to bury your head in the sand… .

Wendy Brown says:

July 1, 2015 at 11:08 pm

She calls herself an educator. She is so out of touch with the needs of ALL children. Just interested in her own political agenda.

Susan Severtson says:

July 1, 2015 at 8:52 pm

Nepotism at its finest !

Bridgette Savage says:

July 1, 2015 at 8:07 pm

Is this an appointment rather than an “election”? The State Board of Education Chairperson, Glenda Ritz, was ELECTED by the people of the State of Indiana. Ms. O’Brien seems to have been selected by the Board. Is the word “elected” being used by the Board to legitimize this newly created position?

Lyle Snyder says:

July 1, 2015 at 5:07 pm

I think you should look up nepotism, and maybe arrogant.

Tom Sinex says:

July 1, 2015 at 1:08 pm

LOVE the fact you led the headline with political party affiliation. You’re done with me…