Indiana schools keeping close watch as funds could shift their way

INDIANAPOLIS — Cash-strapped Indiana school districts will be closely watching the Indiana General Assembly today for last-second developments on measures intended to funnel more dollars into the classroom in hopes of averting teacher layoffs and program cuts.

Late Wednesday night, state lawmakers were still trying to broker a compromise on legislation that would allow schools greater flexibility in deciding how to spend dollars ordinarily devoted to costs such as transportation and utilities.

Since legislative leaders hope to adjourn today, the deadline was rapidly approaching. But Democrats and Republicans who are meeting this morning still have a host of details to work through.

The late push comes less than three months after Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, citing state tax collections that have fallen short of expectations 17 consecutive months, ordered an across-the-board 3.5 percent cut in K-12 education funding.

The Democratic-led House passed legislation that would allow schools to shift enough money away from other funds and into the classroom to recoup money lost to those cuts, as long as that money goes to stopping the elimination of teachers and programs.

Republicans who control the Senate don’t oppose the principle, but want stronger rules they say would go further to ensure no teachers are laid off. The party wants to attach strings such as one requiring every employee to forego pay increases in order for schools to take advantage of the added flexibility.

Republicans have also suggested adding a provision that would require schools that use the new authority the legislation would grant to ensure that student-teacher ratios go no higher than they are now.

“This is the single best way that schools can make sure they don’t have to lay off any teachers, and it seems to me a reasonable trade-off,” Daniels said. “It’s not unreasonable to say that in exchange for this flexibility, that you might skip a year” of raises.

Lawmakers said there was some progress Wednesday.

“We’ve had some pretty good discussions. I think we’re closer on that than we are on other issues, and we can get some resolution,” said Luke Kenley, the Noblesville Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and was involved in Wednesday’s behind-closed-doors talks on school funding legislation.

The other issues he was referring to include legislation to cancel a planned unemployment premium hike, Democratic-favored jobs-creation measures and a Republican-backed merger of two state pension funds.

“The only problem is, all these issues end up being tied together” during late negotiations, Kenley said.

Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, who was also involved in the discussions, said Democrats are pushing back against Republicans’ insistence that school employees give up raises.

“I think that’s the one sticking point,” she said.

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. expected to receive $142.8 million under the budget that passed in June, but that dipped to $136.3 million after the funding reductions.

So, if the measure favored by Democrats is approved, it would mean the potential to move up to $6.5 million away from other expenses and into the classroom, said David B. Smith, the district’s assistant superintendent of human resources and business affairs.

“We welcome measures that would permit greater flexibility,” Smith said.