Take Action: Tell legislators to invest in traditional public schools
04/20/2015

 

In the final days of the session, legislators will negotiate differences in the state’s budget for the next two years. Much has been said about the school funding formulas, but there are also other items vying with our community-based public schools.

 

Gov. Pence has asked for and pushed for an additional $1,500 per charter school student to jump start charter school growth in Indiana. Forget that charter school advocates came onto the scene 14 years ago asserting that they could do a better job for less money. Flash forward 14 years—60 percent of Indiana’s charter schools are D or F schools. Compare that to the 90 percent of Indiana’s public schools that are A, B or C schools.

 

The governor also seeks an expansion of the private school tax credit that enables Indiana’s wealthiest taxpayers to skirt all or a big part of their state income tax bill in order to incentivize more private school scholarships. Indiana’s wealthiest taxpayers are allowed to divert their tax obligation to the state so that they can donate monies to entities called scholarship granting organizations (SGO) that then give those funds out as private school tuition subsidies. Attending private schools under this SGO program automatically enables a student to qualify for a voucher without ever having to have attended a public school. In essence, it becomes a voucher feeder system—all under the auspices of the Indiana Tax Code. 

 

Gov. Pence is also pushing for the removal of the K-8 private school voucher cap that has been set at $4,800. Removing this cap will cost the state nearly $4 million. 

 

Tell legislators not to divert more tax dollars to charter schools and private school vouchers. Indiana can’t afford expanding more charter bureaucracies and propping up out-of-state interests. Their promise to do better for less has not panned out. Instead, legislators should invest in our local community public schools that are in this for the long haul. Please do not use Indiana’s tax code to divert what should be public funds to private school and special interests.

 

Tell them to focus their attention on Indiana’s proven system for kids, our community-based public schools.