HANCOCK COUNTY — Indiana lawmakers are considering more money for schools, but more than a third of the boost could go toward the state’s private school voucher program — a ratio county school leaders call unbalanced and unfair.
Supporters of the measures maintain they give parents more choices over how to educate their children. But education officials in Hancock County say it siphons funds from public schools, which most students attend, at a time when the schools need more funding.
The estimated $144 million cost for the voucher expansion and a new program allowing parents to directly spend state money on their child’s education expenses is included in state legislative budget projections.
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Overall, House Republicans propose increasing the base funding for K-12 schools by 1.25% during the first year and 2.5% in the second year of the new budget that would start in July. That would mean about $378 million more for total school funding over the two years — with about $200 million going to traditional public schools that have about 1 million students.
The private school voucher changes approved by the House last week would raise income eligibility for a family of four from the current roughly $96,000 a year to about $145,000 in 2022. It also would allow all those students to receive the full voucher amount, rather than the current tiered system that limits full vouchers to such families with incomes of about $48,000.
Those changes are projected to boost voucher program participation by some 12,000 students, or 34%, over the next two years after the enrollment has remained steady around 35,000 the past four years, according to state education department reports. The program’s cost would go from about $174 million this school year to $256 million in two years.
The Republican mantra has been that “money follows the child” and that the state should “fund students, not school systems.”
“The one thing that we’ve heard loud and clear from our constituents and many others is that families need choices, the pandemic has highlighted that, to find the right place for their kids to have the best academic experience, and that’s what this budget focuses on,” Republican House Speaker Todd Huston said.
Republicans also propose creating a new program they’ve dubbed “education savings accounts,” providing grants to parents of children with special needs to spend on their education. Students in foster care, as well as some whose parents are serving in the military or are veterans, would also qualify for the stipends.
Parents could choose to use the money to pay for tuition or for other education expenses like tutoring, therapy or technological devices. That program could cost $19 million for some 3,200 students.
Harold Olin, superintendent of Greenfield-Central Schools, said he’s grateful the state is considering more money for education, but disappointed so much of it’s going to expanding the voucher program.
“I just think it’s a little odd that we’re putting such a large percentage of the new money toward such a small amount of students participating in vouchers,” Olin said.
The Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County also has concerns over the proposals.
“Funneling a lot more money into the voucher program or the education savings account program means less money for public schools, and that’s a problem,” said Wes Anderson, director of school and community relations for the corporation.
The Indiana School Boards Association and the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents note that vouchers and education savings accounts are subject to less regulation and less accountability.
“Private schools are largely exempt from federal and state mandates, regulations, and reporting requirements,” the associations said in talking points they released on the subject. “Unlike public schools, they do not receive federal accountability ratings and are not required to employ licensed teachers. All schools that receive public funds should play by the same rules.”
Anderson agrees.
“And for taxpayer money to go to some of those institutions that aren’t required to have the same accountability standards, or play by the same rules, is concerning,” he said.
That’s also one of the reasons the Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation Board of Trustees opposes voucher program expansions and education savings accounts. The board unanimously passed a resolution Monday night declaring its opposition.
A news release from Mt. Vernon refers to the Governor’s Teacher Compensation Commission report from December 2020, which found the state has fallen to 39th in the country for per-pupil spending, contributing to the lowest teacher salary growth in the nation over the past two decades.
Dave Pfaff, superintendent of Eastern Hancock Schools, cited that report as well.
“When the state a few months ago says teachers are underpaid, and then pretty obviously extends funding to vouchers, it kind of looks like double speak,” he said.
Pfaff said the state’s school voucher program has strayed too far from its beginnings of offering students in failing schools an opportunity to learn elsewhere.
“Over the years, that has gotten perverted, and the money is now going to those who have never even gone to a public school, let alone whether it’s failing or thriving,” he said. “It’s not the program that it was initially sold to be.”
Anderson agreed, saying the expansions use “taxpayer money for families who never intended to go to public school to go to private school on the backs of our taxpayers.”
Indiana Reps. Bob Cherry, R-Greenfield; and Chris Jeter, R- Fishers, whose district includes part of Hancock County, were among the majority voting in favor of a bill on the state budget and one that would establish the education savings accounts. Both bills were referred to the Senate.
Jeter echoed Huston’s and their party’s stance on money following students as opposed to school systems. He added it’s time to start thinking of ways to do education better and differently, and that the COVID-19 pandemic has only made that point clearer.
“Our view is just that some choice and giving parents a little more say in it might be a good way to do it,” Jeter said.
Indiana Senate Bill 412, which addressed education savings accounts, never made it out of committee. Senate Bill 413 started as a proposal to transfer some school corporation funds to charter schools, but changed to propose establishing a panel to study charter school funding and make recommendations. It was referred to the House.
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb hasn’t fully embraced the voucher program expansion. In his State of the State speech last month, he said more school options “shouldn’t come at the expense of the public school system, which educates 90% of Hoosier children.”
Holcomb said last week he supported school choice options and suggested a voucher expansion could happen as part of an overall school funding increase.
“We can do a couple things at the same time and meet parents where their demand is,” Holcomb said.
