State lawmakers questioned on mammoth school voucher program

By JORDAN FOUTS -

ELKHART — Public schools financially hurt by Indiana’s rapidly growing voucher system may have to consolidate to stay afloat, state lawmakers are suggesting.

Legislators spoke at the first Third House session of the year at the Greater Elkhart Chamber on Friday. Reps. Joanna King, Doug Miller and Timothy Wesco were joined by Sens. Blake Doriot and Linda Rogers.

Questions about education funding issues, such as teacher pay and school vouchers, came from many audience members including educators and administrators. The lawmakers were asked why the state was undermining its public schools by diverting so much money away from them, harming their ability to keep programs intact and to pay teachers competitively.

“We talk about lack of monies to pay for teachers but we’ve given away, easily, $1.6 billion to charter and private schools,” said Goshen resident Paul Steury, an environmental educator. “That could have gone into public schools to increase our benefits for teachers.”

Indiana’s voucher system is one of the largest and broadest in the country, and gave $439 million to parochial and non-religious private schools in the 2023-24 school year – a $128 million increase over the previous period.

Steury said he’s a critic of Indiana’s voucher system after attending Bethany Christian Schools himself with financial help coming from his church, rather than taxpayers. He said he would like to see teacher salaries raised to around $65,000 before Indiana loses too many of its best instructors to states that pay better.

School vouchers and segregation

Rogers and other lawmakers pointed to school choice as the benefit of the voucher system.

“When it comes to voucher students, and I know the governor wants to increase vouchers to 100 percent, keep in mind that all the dollars that are being spent for education are paid for by all the taxpayers. And so if someone goes to a charter or voucher school, those parents have paid taxes for education,” she said. “We want parents to be in charge of their childrens’ education I think, that’s the most important thing. So when someone takes their child out of a public school to a voucher school or charter school, it’s because they believe that that school is going to provide the best education for their child.”

Indiana’s voucher program began under Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2011, though the voucher system nationally has its roots in the refusal of some states to desegregate their schools starting in 1955. One of the most notorious cases was in Prince Edward County, Virginia, where county officials shut down the public school system for five years while it opened whites-only private schools funded by tuition grants.

White students in Indiana now make up more than half of those who receive vouchers to leave public schools, according to Indiana Department of Education data.

As Indiana raised the income eligibility for participating families, the share of white students whose private education received public funding grew from 46 percent to 64 percent over the life of the program. Asian student participation in the program also saw a small increase, from 1.4 percent to around 4 percent.

The share of black students fell – from 24 percent in the program’s first year to around 9 percent for the 2023-24 school year,

The percentage of Hispanic students fell from 20 percent of those benefiting from the voucher program in 2011-12 to 17 percent in the last school year.

State data also shows that, as the program consumes more public funds, it benefits more students who never attended public school to begin with. The majority of voucher recipients in the 2021-22 academic year – roughly 70 percent – have no record of previously attending an Indiana public school.

‘No magic wand’

In answer to a question about smaller schools being forced to cut programs – one audience member reported losing everything from band and art to continuing education, leaving only football and basketball – lawmakers did not point to any bills in the works to offer protection. Rogers responded by citing school choice and Doriot suggested consolidation as a way to survive.

“This has been talked about. There is no bill. I am not saying I am for this, but years ago, decades ago, we went through a lot of consolidations. And that may have to happen for some of these smaller schools because it is so expensive to teach and the administration,” Doriot said. “It’s going to be a painful thing but we went through it in this county – New Paris and Millersburg went together, Wakarusa and Nappanee went together – and we may have to step there as the smaller schools in rural areas decline in population.”

Dan Funston, superintendent of Concord Community Schools, pointed to academic achievements in his district despite the per-student spending of $1,800 being less than half of the average amount. He asked what can be done to protect the funds of schools that have been responsible with tax dollars.

“Last year, third grade reading scores went up 0.6 percent, Concord it was 7 percent. Our districts in Elkhart County predominantly are outperforming everybody else. I hope we acknowledge that,” he said. “One thing I would like to say is that every student is not funded the same way in Indiana, especially when it comes to property tax payers.”

Rogers agreed that there’s a significant disparity in funding across the state, with some school districts able to devote close to $10,000 per student thanks to property taxes while other districts have a much smaller tax base. She said she sees no solution.

“Your situation is a very difficult one. I wish I could wave a magic wand and fix it. There is a huge disparity all across the state of Indiana because every student is funded by the state with tuition support, and then, of course, property taxes then also go to the schools,” she said. “I wish there was a way to fix it. I don’t know what it is right now. But I appreciate you bringing it up.”

Read this article on the Elkhart Truth Website here.