Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) shared data Wednesday that shows Indiana’s overall percentage of school funding has decreased since 2011. He said to improve academic achievement, lawmakers must decrease schools’ reliance on operating referendums and focus on directly funding public schools instead of expanding Indiana’s voucher programs.
The portion of the state budget allocated to traditional public schools dropped from 43.1 percent in 2011 to 36.4 percent this year. The portion for school vouchers during that time frame rose from zero to 2 percent.
DeLaney said Indiana’s Republican supermajority will likely make the state’s voucher program open to all families, regardless of income, in coming years.
“And then we’ll have the real fight, which is, are we going to increase the vouchers from $6,000? Because if we do, we’ll go from three quarters of a billion on vouchers to more,” he said.
Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 765-275-1120. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues and the election, including our project Civically, Indiana.
Meanwhile, many traditional public schools in Indiana ask residents to vote on property tax increases to supplement state funding. DeLaney said shifts in the state budget, particularly increased spending on vouchers, has led to funding shortfalls for many public schools.
He said funding schools instead of individual students through the voucher program will relieve some of that pressure.
“I think there is 100 percent agreement that we want less reliance on referendums. So, put your money where your mouth is. Take money from the state budget and put it in the schools, and we won’t need it as much,” he said.
He added that increasing education funding will especially help schools in areas where residents might be more reluctant to pass a referendum.
DeLaney said he is worried that some schools will not be able to continue to fill funding gaps without additional money from state lawmakers. He urged lawmakers to study the cost to raise teacher salaries to at least $60,000 and increase public school funding by that estimate.
Kirsten is our education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair.