Guest column: Public school legislation and what you're not being told

Chicago Tribune

29-03-2025

It's the end of March. The Indiana General Assembly will finalize its two-year budget by the end of April. Public input is needed now (while discussions are still taking place) to protect the financial well-being of public schools.
Republican legislators are out bemoaning the dire Indiana revenue forecasts and telling everyone to be prepared for minimal increases, even status quo, in state funding for the next two years (even citing the negative effects of President Donald Trump's tariff wars). The key bills coming up are: HB 1001, SB 1, HB 1402 and SB 518.
HB 1001 is the House budget, which touts a 2% increase for education. What the public isn't told is that this would be the lowest increase in school funding since 2017 and doesn't even keep pace with the current inflation rate of 3%!
What the public is not being told is that public schools will actually be lucky to receive even a small portion of that 2% increase. Public schools will also lose other sources of revenue from reduction in property taxes and having to divert referendum funds to charter schools.
What the public doesn't realize is that private school vouchers are being opened up to provide public tax dollars to even the wealthiest of parents in the state to pay for private school tuition (welfare for the rich). Projections are that this will amount to $139 million to be subtracted from the overall 2% funding for K-12 public schools.
SB 1 and HB 1402 are both different versions of property tax reductions that will result in a loss of at least $500 million over three years from public schools for capital improvements, transportation and debt payments!
SB 518 would require public schools that pass a referendum (needed to make up for lost state revenue) to divert much of that referendum money to all charter schools in their area, even further reducing public school revenue for which voters intended.
What the public doesn't know is that charter schools already receive an additional $1,400 per student to be comparable to the property tax revenue public schools receive. Charter schools do not have to provide for transportation costs, nor have anywhere close to the debt and facility costs of public schools. If the state wants to give charter schools more, then make that a separate fund — don't continue to rob public schools!
Further, what the public doesn't fully recognize is that private school vouchers and charter school funding with public tax dollars are provided without any public reporting or monitoring as to how public tax dollars are used and spent. No one has any idea as to who is making personal profits rather than spending for student learning.
Charter school fraud with public tax dollars is real (just last February another charter school CEO admitted to embezzling over $900,00). This would not be possible if charter and private schools had to publicly account for the spending of their public tax dollars.
If 'school choice' is as important as Republican legislators say it is, then why do they prioritize funding the wealthy with vouchers and shortchanging the overwhelming choice of public schools by 90% of Indiana students?!
Demand that public school funding becomes the top priority and that public schools actually do receive at least 2% increases in real money without misleading hidden diversions to private vouchers and charters.
Fix HB 1001, SB 1 and say no to SB 518! Demand that private and charter schools receiving state tax dollars be publicly audited!
Call the Indiana Senate (800-382-9467 — Senators Bray and Mishler). Call the Indiana House (800-382-9841 — Representatives Huston and Thompson).
Go to www.indianacoalitionforpubliced.org for more info about being an advocate for your public school.