OPINION: Daniels' bottom line

"These 16 months on the road are our way of saying to Hoosiers, no matter where you live, you are not forgotten anymore." - Mitch Daniels July 7, 2004

Karen Francisco, The Journal Gazette

kfrancisco@jg.net

For the thousands of rural Indiana residents who saw state leaders only on broadcasts originating from Indianapolis, the Republican candidate for governor who rolled into their small towns and farms in a lumbering RV was a breath of fresh air in 2004. He talked about community and engaging all Hoosiers in an "Indiana comeback."

But if they aren't skeptical about their role in Gov. Mitch Daniels' vision five years later, they should be by the time the full force of budget cuts hits their local school districts. While he touts overall increases in education spending, those increases are anything but equitable, particularly for rural schools. Suburban school districts will see increases averaging about 1.5 percent next year; rural schools will average just 0.35 percent more.