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As with the antiquated tradition of township government, Indiana lawmakers have clung to a two-year budget cycle with unquestioning confidence. This year, however, House Democratic leaders are rightly asking why – in the midst of tumultuous economic conditions – it’s necessary to lock in school spending through 2011.
That is a good question. The one-year education budget the House Ways and Means Committee approved Tuesday is a novel approach that gives lawmakers some flexibility in an economic climate that is changing daily. If ever there was a time to reject the “we’ve always done it this way” approach, this is it.
“This provides some budget certainty through June 30, 2010, and school corporations know we will be back here next year,” said Rep. William Crawford, D-Indianapolis, in announcing the plan. “Hopefully, the economy is going to change, (and) hopefully we’ll have more money from the federal stimulus package, so we’ll have ample time to address the second year.”
The House bill would give schools a 2 percent increase in 2010. It sounds like an excessive amount at a time when private-sector employers are cutting jobs and freezing wages. But schools operate under contract agreements that reward all but the most senior teachers with step increases in pay. If schools receive even the same amount of funding as the previous year, they must make cuts elsewhere to cover teacher salaries.
Flat-lining school funding for two years, as Gov. Mitch Daniels has proposed, would inevitably result in fewer teachers and increased class sizes. Because there is no profit margin to trim in education, savings must be found in personnel and programs.
East Allen County Schools, for example, is considering $1.5 million in budget cuts for this year, including reductions in summer school and eliminating six teaching positions through attrition.
Unless enrollment decreases at EACS next year, which it is unlikely to do, class sizes will grow.
House Bill 1723 also calls for increases in funding for full-day kindergarten from $58.5 million to $86.5 million. The increases overall would require spending $100 million in state reserves, which the governor and Republican lawmakers have opposed.
There’s time between now and the April 29 adjournment date to determine the direction state revenues are taking. How the federal economic stimulus package treats schools will also be known by then.
In the meantime, the House Democratic plan gives the General Assembly an alternative to a budget proposal that inevitably sidetracks the progress Indiana schools have been making in recent years. The governor has said that education will be his primary issue in his second term, and his budget proposal clearly represents a negotiating point for his objectives.
The end product isn’t likely to look exactly like HB 1723 or Daniels’ plan. But there’s no harm in starting with an education budget unlike any previous education budget.
Unusual times call for unusual measures.
