Be Careful What You Wish For!
The Indiana State Teacher’s Association will file suit tomorrow arguing Indiana’s system of funding education violates state law and the State Constitution. ISTA argues the state has put mandates on schools to perform, but has not provided the necessary funding. Indiana is not alone, according to some research I did this morning, 37 states have been sued over education funding, 21 have been successful and nine are pending.
Dan Clark of ISTA says the organization is not asking for a property tax increase to pay for funding, but an increase in the income tax on the wealthiest of Hoosiers to close the gap. Clark downplayed the idea of forcing school districts to consolidate as a way to provide more dollars for schools, saying it should be voluntary.
However, as my good friend RiShawn Biddle reports on his Expresso web blog, ISTA could end up with a result it wasn’t expecting. Under the current formula districts that loose students have their funding phased out over three years while those who gain students get the funding phased in over three years. So a district like Hamilton County that is growing is negatively impacted, while those who lose students like IPS, get to keep their dollars.
If the funding formula is changed and the money follows the student immediately, this could have a serious deleterious effect on the schools and districts that need the money the most.
Like I said, be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
