INDIANAPOLIS — Schools in Hancock County and across Indiana will continue to receive full funding for students learning from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The move followed warnings of possible cuts due to state law capping schools’ per-pupil funding at 85% for students who take at least half of their classes virtually.
But the Indiana State Board of Education on Wednesday voted for executive director Brian Murphy to modify the state tuition support rule. Students reported in the February 2020 average daily membership count date as attending school in person who will be reported in the September count as attending virtually because of the novel coronavirus will be funded as though they’re attending in person.
Students reported in last February’s and this September’s counts as virtual will continue to be funded at 85%.
The possible 15% cut schools were facing would’ve come out to $855 per student learning virtually due to the pandemic.
About 15% of Greenfield-Central Schools are enrolled in virtual learning, an option the district created for the start of the 2020-21 academic year.
Harold Olin, Greenfield-Central superintendent, said the school corporation hired new teachers at the elementary and high school levels to support the new virtual programming.
“It has required us to increase our personnel costs quite a bit,” Olin said.
During the state’s weekly news conference Wednesday, Murphy recognized investments and steps brick-and-mortar school systems like G-C are taking to build out their new virtual programs.
“The carve-out really is to ensure that we are properly funding students that are virtual due to COVID, but we’re being fiscally responsible and not (fully) funding true virtual students that would be virtual regardless of the pandemic,” Murphy said.
Olin added having students learn from home hasn’t changed the needs Greenfield’s schools have onsite, further reinforcing the district’s need to continue receiving the same level of funding.
“It was just very encouraging news for us,” he said of the state’s decision.
Southern Hancock schools officials welcomed the decision as well, said Wes Anderson, the district’s spokesman.
“This is a monumental change in favor of schools,” Anderson told the Daily Reporter in an email. “The potential of 85% funding for virtual students could have led to a major shortfall in school budgets statewide.”
Anderson pointed out that state law requires school budgets to be completed a year in advance.
“The 2020 and 2021 budgets are already finished,” he said. “We didn’t know this pandemic was coming. We should not be penalized by offering a virtual option to those families who need it.”
Southern Hancock had no virtual students until COVID-19 and currently has about 400. Were they to be funded at 85%, it would have cost the school corporation more than $350,000 — the cost of about seven teachers.
“We wholeheartedly support this decision and thank the SBOE for supporting Indiana schools,” Anderson said.
State school superintendent Jennifer McCormick praised the state board of education’s decision in a news release, noting it aligns with original guidance from the Indiana Department of Education.
Holcomb commended the decision during Wednesday’s news conference as well.
