Although things have quieted down over at the Indiana General Assembly, there are still some bills of interest worth paying attention to, one of which deals with the start of school.

Last week the Senate approved a bill that would push the start of school back to after Labor Day in 2012 and schools would end by June 10.  Private schools and year-round schools would be exempt.  The measure in the House right now.

At the risk of sounding like my late grandfather, back when I was in school in Chicago we started after Labor Day and finished around June 5 or 6.  And somehow we managed to turn out just fine.

There is no reason to start school in early August.  Schools used to start early because of I-Step testing, but I-Step has been moved to the Spring.   Some school administrators also argue they need to start school early so kids can complete their finals before winter break.

Once again, I’m about to sound like my grandfather here, but I can clearly recall my school district giving us finals two weeks after the Holiday break and everyone turned out just fine.  In fact we preferred it that way so we had to do some studying over break and not forget everything.  We also didn’t have a fall break.

By starting after Labor Day we got to enjoy our summers and the schools got to save on air conditioning because the number of ungodly hot days were kept down to a bear minimum.

It seems like a win-win situation that’s very easy to accomplish.  Maybe that’s why it will take forever to get done.

Now that the Indianapolis Colts have lost the Super Bowl (31-17),  I can let you know what else is on tap for this week…

In the race to challenge Evan Bayh, you would think that former U.S. Senator Dan Coats was already in the race the way the ads have been popping up all over the place.  The most damning one in my opinion is the You Tube clip where he says he had no intention of ever returning to Indiana.  Yikes!

Also expect U.S. Senate candidate Don Bates, Jr. to file on Thursday.  His campaign tells me they have the signatures to get on the ballot.  No word yet from the other candidates.

Things are getting interesting in two of Indiana’s Congressional races.   State Rep. Mike Murphy put out a poll last week saying only 28% of GOP voters think 5th District incumbent Dan Burton should be re-elected.  The other challengers all had support in the teens and more than 40% of the voters were undecided.  That does not bode well for the incumbent.  But 28% support is still better than 16% support.

In the 4th District I’m hearing State Senator Mike Young may get in the race.  Already Secretary of State Todd Rokita and State Senator Brandt Hershman are gunning for the job.  If Young gets in, how can I say this politely, he will corner the market on the intellectually challenged vote.

I’ll be checking to see how things play out in the Indiana House of Representatives now that Democrat Chet Dobis has been stripped of his leadership position and just how far will he go to vote his conscience on matters.   As accurately pointed out on Frugal Hoosiers, if Dobis decides to play hardball he can block any party-line measure from happening because the Democrats would only have 50 votes, which is not enough to pass anything.  Democrats only had a 52-48 majority and State Rep. Dennie Oxley, Sr. is out with health issues.  Do the math.

The candidates keep piling on the race to fill the spot on the Indianapolis City-County Council being vacated by Republican Kent Smith.  So far the list of possible candidates includes Aaron Williams, son of Deputy Mayor Olgen Williams,  Jackie Cissel, Daniels administration aide at FSSA, local businessmen Angel Rivera and Chris Douglas and former CIB board member Dorothy Henry.   All bring unique qualifications to the job, but what I think is more interesting is that you have three African-Americans, two of which are women, a Hispanic and an openly gay man.  This is definitely not your father’s Republican Party.

Speaking of City-County Councilors, I would be surprised if there is a formal statement this week from Jim Voyles regarding Councilor Lincoln Plowman, who is under investigation but no one is quite sure exactly for what.   Plowman has not spoken publicly but on his Facebook page he offered thanks to everyone who has offered their support and told them “Please do not believe everything that you hear or read from the news media sources.”  Plowman does not plan to step down from the Council.

Expect Mitch Daniels legal counsel Mark Massa to formally enter the race for Marion County Prosecutor today.  Slating for both the Democrats and Republicans is this weekend.  I’m debating which one to hit.  The Republicans actually have a contest for Sheriff.   The Democratic slating contest was over before it began.  I’ll be checking the energy and enthusiasm of both crowds.

Also expect a report to come out this week on mass transit in Central Indiana.  Whereas previous reports have ended up mothballed on the shelf, this one, I’m told, might actually have some teeth behind it.

That’s what I’m watching this week.  There’s a lot more I could add to the list but 635 words is more than enough for Monday morning.