Indiana lawmakers face tough decisions on education funding

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4 thoughts on “Indiana lawmakers face tough decisions on education funding

  1. In 2023, Indiana’s property tax burden ranked 21st in the country (tied with Montana). The rate was 0.83 percent resulting in an average tax bill of $2,021.
    Increases in the tax bill in recent years were mostly the result of higher property assessments based on the fair market value of the property. In some instances, rate increases were approved by voters to improve local schools (or build new ones) and/or to increase teacher pay.
    By any reasonable measure, property taxes in Indiana are not high or out-of-control. That is because Indiana has imposed limits on both tax rates and assessments subject to the tax.
    At the same time, Indiana Republicans have myopic in their considerations of life-changing reforms to public education. There is little evidence that increasing education “choice” has improved learning. Diverting funds from existing public schools to charter, private, and religious schools is a classic case of robbing from Peter to pay Paul, especially when less than a two-thirds of Indiana’s rural counties have charter, private, or religion schools.
    Changing curriculum standards and requires does little to prepare Indiana students for the high-paying careers of the future. Yes, we need more electricians, plumbers, and carpenters. And while such jobs pay better-than-average wages, there is scant opportunity for advancement in the trades.
    Research has long shown that a college degree results in more than $2 million in lifetime earnings over a high school diploma. Many argue that not all students are cut out for college. Few tell us why.
    The causes are many, ranging from a homelife than places a lower value on education to a lack of opportunity to learn at an early age the skills and attitudes necessary for future success in the classroom. With a plethora of aid, grants, and scholarships, paying for college is not a significant obstacle – as long as the student has been properly prepared for the challenges and opportunities in the college classroom.
    With these facts in mind, it is disappointing that Indiana Republicans would choose to throw away money chasing weak and ineffective education “reforms” that will not change the trajectory of a student’s future success. It is as if they simply buy into the mindset of an echo chamber from their party’s national leaders without doing any other research to see what actually has value – and works.
    Universal pre-K is one such option that is rarely if ever broached in Indiana, despite reams of studies that show it offers more benefits to children in both the short- and long-term. These include being better prepared for kindergarten academically and socially, resulting in higher literacy, numeracy, and language fluency skills. Children who attend pre-K are more likely to stay in school, earn more as adults, and attend college.
    Furthermore, early childhood education is considered a good investment because it costs less than trying to mediate problems later, and children who attend pre-K are less likely to get arrested later in life. Universal pre-K also can contribute to family stability by allowing parents to find and maintain jobs.
    And Indiana can become more competitive with countries that offer universal pre-K.
    You get what you pay for. As it now stands, what Indiana Republicans are considering, and likely to enact, will not get our children the future they deserve.

    1. Brent, you should just run for state office of governor or legislature and see who might listen.

  2. This isn’t about education or the importance of education to future income streams or individual financial success. It is all about, and only about, the efforts of the Indiana Republican party to undermine the state teacher’s association and to continue to cultivate a culture of ignorance and isolation which will leave many Indiana children incapable of succeeding outside the state. They won’t know how to deal with multiracial or non-heterosexual environments. They’ll never have been exposed to a very narrow, allegedly Christian based, world view that will not in any way serve them outside the rural areas of Indiana or similar states. it won’t help them in NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, or any other major US city. Not even in Indianapolis. And forget about foreign jobs. Sending these White Christian Nationalist products to London or Paris or other parts of the worlds won’t work.

    But as long as the Legislature keeps the kids with an education that only qualifies them to be factory workers and maybe trades folks, or military, the legislators will continue to be elected. It says something about their plans when the Presidents of the state universities had to tell the Education Department their new curriculum wouldn’t qualify the kids for Indiana colleges…

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