Scott Tibbs
Printed in the Herald-Times, 10-08-1999
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H-T's integrity questioned
To the editor:I was deeply offended by the Herald-Times editorial board's attack on Dr. Bill Scott in the September 30 H-T. The editorial consisted entirely of unfounded cheap shots, as well as some blatant distortions.
First of all, it was not just the Templeton School that Dr. Scott addressed in his presentation at the Monroe County Public Library. Dr. Scott addressed the performance of all of MCCSC, not just one school. What Dr. Scott's presentation proved beyond a shadow of a doubt was that constantly infusing the government schools with massive revenue increases does not improve education.
As to the "poorly-drawn graphs" the H-T refers to, Dr. Scott got his statistics directly from the Indiana Department of Education web page, and further data on Monroe County schools can be found at http://www.monroecountytaxpayers.org/schools.html
The H-T's cheap shot about the attendance at the forum was both misleading and inaccurate. First of all, there were over 50 people there, not 40. Second, the number of people that attended the Grassroots United was twice the number the League of Women Voters had at their forum supporting the tax increase. Third, these types of forums at the library by their nature do not draw many people, so having 50 was a major accomplishment.
Also, when the LWV had their forum, the H-T made absolutely no effort to contact people who had been on record opposing the referendum. The H-T simply regurgitated the LWV's propaganda. But when an opposing voice speaks out, the H-T makes a special effort to get "the other side". Of course the H-T should have contacted MCCSC to get their reaction on Dr. Scott's comments, but they should make equal effort to get the other side when pro-referendum forces hold a forum.
Can the H-T's journalistic integrity be any more compromised?