CHESTERFIELD, N.J. – A school bus carrying elementary school children collided Thursday with a dump truck, killing a student who is the daughter of a state trooper, authorities said.WASHINGTON – Congressional candidate Marlin Stutzman shouldn’t try to recruit students and teachers to volunteer in his campaign by sending e-mails to instructors, Fort Wayne Community Schools says.
The district intends to send Stutzman’s campaign a letter today in response to e-mails from his field manager that were sent to teachers in the district, other districts and several private high schools.
The e-mails invite government teachers and their students to participate in Stutzman’s door-to-door campaigning, help telephone potential supporters or walk in parades.
“We think it is inappropriate to contact teachers through their work e-mail asking them to ask students to be part of a campaign,” said Krista Stockman, district spokeswoman.
But Robb Greene, Stutzman’s campaign manager, said the e-mail message was merely an invitation and could be ignored by any teacher who received it.
“It sounds like this lady is disgruntled,” he said of Stockman. “I have to question her motives if she takes offense at this.”
Greene said he didn’t know what those motives are and added: “I just don’t know what policy we are breaking.”
Stockman said government classes talk about campaigns, especially during election seasons, and review campaign material, but “it’s a completely different animal to recruit students to work on a campaign” through their instructors.
The e-mail says if teachers wanted to assign extra credit for students who assist with the campaign, a campaign staffer would sign a document verifying that the student participated.
Stutzman is the Republican nominee in the northeast Indiana congressional race that will decide who represents the Fort Wayne area in Congress for two years.
He and the Democratic nominee, Tom Hayhurst, are running dual campaigns that will be decided Nov. 2.
One election will select a congressman to serve the remaining two months of the term of Mark Souder, who resigned in May. That winner will be sworn in shortly after the election.
The winner of the other race – likely to be the same person – will take office in January with other members of Congress who are elected Nov. 2.
