In the spirit of being fiscally responsible and focused on students, our priorities this session is to make sure more state dollars make it to classrooms.
Indiana is currently ranked second in the nation for directing 52 percent of our budget toward K-12 education. However, less than 60 percent of public school expenditures make it into the classroom. In 2013, Indiana had the lowest percentage (41.4 percent) of total K-12 staff being classroom teachers in the nation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Our students and teachers deserve better.
State-wide public schools receive taxpayer dollars from three sources: local property taxes and state and federal government. State funding is the largest source of funds making up 68 percent of total funding. Property taxes add 23 percent, and the federal government provides the remaining 9 percent.
These sources account for $11.6 billion in K-12 education funding across Indiana during the 2014-15 school year.
It is important to note that only traditional public schools receive property tax dollars, which are to pay for transporting students (including the purchase of school buses), capital expenditures (including facility upgrades, repairs, and technology equipment), and the repayment of any debt held by the school (including mortgages on buildings and local teacher pension obligations).
Public charter schools receive less funding per pupil due to the lack of property tax dollars and must use their state funds to cover the cost of buildings, transportation and technology, which leaves fewer funds to cover classroom expenses and teacher salaries.
State funding follows each student to the district where they are educated. Every public school (both traditional and charter) receives a base amount of per student funding ($5,088 for the 2016-17 school year) – this amount is referred to as the foundation grant. Schools receive additional funding depending on a variety of factors like special education need and the number of low-income students. Property tax dollars remain in the school district, regardless of where the student chooses to attend school.
Voucher-participating private schools receive even less funding per pupil. By law, a student’s voucher amount will always be less than what the state would have paid for that student to attend their traditional public school. The average voucher amount for the 2015-2016 school year was $4,024.
But not enough funding is working its way through the school administration system to direct instructional purposes, to the detriment of more take-home pay for teachers or classroom technology. We want Hoosier resources to be used judiciously to ensure every student is receiving a high-quality education.
This session, members of the House are considering legislation that would provide schools with flexibility to help drive dollars to the classroom. House Bill 1009 would reduce barriers and provide both greater options and transparency in school finances. It would replace the current system with two simple funding categories for schools: an education fund and an operations fund. Student instructional and learning expenditures would be paid only out of the education fund, while expenditures related to maintenance, capital projects, transportation, bus replacement, utilities and other operations would be paid out of the operations fund. Schools would be allowed to transfer money between the two funds at their discretion.
This legislation breaks down school funding silos and provides better budgetary flexibility to corporations. Because only 57 percent of school funding in Indiana reaches the classroom on average, these reforms will empower school administrators and boards to channel a greater share of resources to Hoosier students and educators.
The bill would also reform school property tax levies. School corporations have at least four property tax levies and their associated funds at their disposal. It would consolidate the capital, transportation and school bus replacement levies into a new operations levy. Usage of the revenue generated by the new levy would no longer be constrained by the narrow budgetary restrictions applied to the current levy system.
It is time for the General Assembly to ensure our state’s continued improvement on education funding. Please contact me with any questions or input at H30@iga.in.gov, or (317) 232-9815.
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State Rep. Mike Karickhoff represents House District 30,
which includes portions of Grant and Howard counties.
A high-resolution photo of Karickhoff can be downloaded by clicking here.
