Legislation that would fill an estimated $16 million gap in school funding breezed through the Indiana House of Representatives last week and local superintendents are encouraged by its success.
House Bill 1001 aims to address and preemptively solve a funding crisis that would negatively impact all area schools. Northeast Dubois Schools Superintendent Bill Hochgesang and North Spencer Schools Superintendent Dan Scherry said the bill would provide additional funding to K-12 schools after 6,300 students more than expected enrolled in public schools in Indiana this school year.
A similar bill, Senate Bill 189, is waiting to be read and voted on in the Senate.
“So far it’s looking really good that they’re going to add those additional appropriations and make up for the shortfall,” Hochgesang said.
If passed, the additional money would be pulled from the state tuition reserve fund. If the bill fails, dollars would be knocked off the total amount schools receive per pupil.
According to numbers from the Indiana University School of Education, Northeast Dubois Schools received $6,572 dollars per pupil in 2017 and North Spencer Schools received $6,242. The Associated Press reported that schools could miss out on about $15 per student in 2018 funding if nothing is done.
Hochgesang and Scherry expressed optimism that the legislation will speed through the Senate and into law.
Scherry said he will be glad to have the additional enrollment money but added it wouldn’t be the end of the world if his corporation didn’t get it.
He said in 2008 or 2009, his corporation missed out on a full payment from the state for about a month — which at that time equated to about $700,000.
“For us, not getting $3,000 is no big deal to us,” Scherry said of the funds his corporation would potentially miss out on if legislation isn’t passed. “Obviously, we’d like to have that, and it’s going to pass. It’s nice that legislators are stepping up and doing that, but for a corporation our size, it’s not going to be a make-or-break thing.”
According to a January Indianapolis Star story, districts in and around the state capital could miss out on up to $315,000 in funding if legislation is not passed. That data was not readily available for area school districts.
Southeast Dubois Superintendent Rick Allen said via email that he liked the legislation. Greater Jasper Superintendent Tracy Lorey did not respond to requests for this story and Southwest Dubois Superintendent Tim LaGrange declined to comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report