This news story from Gary, about State Superintendent Tony Bennett's meeting with members of the Calumet High School community, addressed concerns that the state would take over the school, which is in its fourth year of probation under the state's accountability law.

When an audience member pointed out that the struggling school had limited resources and asked if the state would help students in need, Bennett replied: "If money solved education issues, we would have already solved them all."

Those words sounded terribly familiar. A quick search took me to Gov. Mitch Daniels' strident 2005 State of the State address, in which the newly elected governor attacked Indiana's schools: "We have doubled the amount of money spent per child with scant improvement in the only thing that matters, the readiness of those children. If money were the answer, this would no longer be a problem."

Perhaps the state superintendent is cutting costs by recycling speeches.