Overall, Evansville Teachers Association (ETS) President Lori Young is happy with the newly passed 2025 district budget.
“I think the EVSC did a nice job with those limitations placed on the state, with having three different, basically three different types of education systems here in Indiana.”
This can include the near-universal private school voucher system which the EVSC and the ETA are not happy with.
“It's taking a huge chunk of money from all of our public schools here in Indiana, and I am amazed that the legislators would think that that is Okay, considering most of them went to public schools,” Young said.
According to Indiana Public Radio, $439 million was set aside for student tuition in private schools. There are a little more than 70,000 attending private schools on the voucher system.
As of the 2023-2024 school year, up to 90-percent of Hoosier students qualify for a private school voucher — even if parents earn more than $200,000 annually.
EVSC Chief Communications Officer Jason Woebkenberg said without vouchers, public school teachers could receive even higher raises, while only seven percent of students attend private schools in Indiana.
“That makes it very challenging to have the funds that you need to continue to stay competitive with wages, salaries, benefits for your employees.”
At EVSC, staffing normally takes up 98-percent of education funds from the state.
This recently passed 2025 budget includes a $3,000 raise for all certified teachers and a 4-percent increase for non-certified staff.
Assistant Superintendent Carl Underwood said school districts are receiving more funding from the state in 2025.
“So the big change is the fact that the state picked up the expense for curriculum resources, and in doing so, they provided revenue to all school districts to fund that expense,” he said, adding that it is going into the Education Fund, lowering that percentage to about 96-percent.
The budget is more than $319 million. This is the "advertised" budget, a likely higher number than they'll actually spend. It was balanced without drama or layoffs.
However the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds given during the pandemic are ending.
It took planning to maintain programs and avoid a budgetary "cliff" said Executive Director of Finance and Business Affairs Courtney Bohleber.
“We have been planning for years of this money, when it comes off, what we can do to sustain the programs that we've brought in with ESSER money, and how that'll affect our budget,” she said. "You're going to start seeing schools really fall off we call it the 'financial cliff,' where they didn't plan for this."
Prior to COVID, nurses employed at EVSC were part time. ESSER funds were used to employ them full time, a schedule they’ve kept. They'll also keep support positions hired with ESSER funds. These funds must be spent by the end of 2024.
Planning for the 2026 budget will begin in a a couple months, with significant work happening spring 2025 after the Indiana General Assembly votes on school funding.
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