Save ISSCH

The Honorable Mitch Daniels

4750 N. Meridian Street

Indianapolis, IN 46208

Phone: 317-931-3076

Fax: 317-283-1201



Re: Closing Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Children's Home



Dear Governor Daniels:



As a law abiding tax payer and former student of this institution, I was saddened and surprised at your decision to close down this facility, which has meant so much to so many people since its founding during the days of Abraham Lincoln. I was saddened because of the connection that I, along with thousands of other Hoosiers have with ISSCH. I was surprised because during your campaign for reelection you liked to talk about what a friend you were to the kids in the state of Indiana . You talked about how laws you passed have helped to keep children in a safe environment and safe from harm. If this is the case then why now would you want to close an institution which prides itself on helping at risk children?



I'm sure we have all heard the stories on the news how the ISTEP scores at Morton Memorial have been in steady decline for the past eight years, or how there is no clear vision, or no clear admission standards. I ask you this, Is this a failure of the students or is it a failure of the state government, which has essentially sat back for 9 years and watched this school fail? I don't think you can fault the teachers of the school either if the state failed to step in and stop this decline.



Governor Daniels, if you truly care about the students of this state and their wellbeing I ask you to carefully reconsider this decision. ISSCH isn't a line item on the state budget that can be vetoed at will. If you truly care for the kids in this state and the environment they are raised in, I ask you to meet with us and discuss other ways to bring the budget under control without putting hundreds of kids out on the streets or back into an unstable home. Not to mention the countless faculty and staff who will lose their jobs.