Public education leaders demonstrated their displeasure for proposed education bills this week with 200 cookies inside the Indiana Statehouse and a hot pink sign that announced a $5 billion bake sale.
The Indiana Coalition for Public Education chose $5 billion because that’s how much funding they said public schools have lost over the past 13 years. The rally took place after a vote on the current budget proposal in the House Ways and Means Committee.
The House GOP’s budget proposal would allocate more money toward schools while eliminating income requirements for the state’s school voucher program.
For the next two years, the proposed budget would give schools a 2 percent funding boost. It would dedicate more than $9.2 billion and $9.3 billion respectively to state tuition support. That’s up from a little more than $9 billion this year.
The budget’s supporters said it gives schools a 2 percent funding boost. However, the cost of removing income caps for Indiana’s voucher program would come from that pot of money. Indiana’s Legislative Services Agency said that expansion could cost nearly $184 million over two years.
Public education leaders across the state said that’s too big of a cut from the fund, especially at a time when public schools are struggling with property tax caps and inflation.
“We’re seeing a growing push to siphon public funds, our tax dollars, away from the public schools to bolster an unregulated system of education to the voucher program,” said Gwendolyn Kelley, education chair of the NAACP Indiana State Conference.
Kelley said private voucher schools are not accountable to the public and are not required to serve all students.
Other speakers at the bake sale demonstration said they are also concerned about bills that would limit school referendums, reduce property tax revenue, change teacher appreciation stipends and require public schools to share some property tax dollars with charter schools.
Republican lawmakers who advanced the bill to reduce property tax revenue said school corporations need to tighten their budgets and reduce spending. However, they did amend the bill to limit its effect on schools and local governments.
The budget now heads to the full House.
Kirsten is our education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair .
