Indiana
School funding debate hits the Statehouse • Indiana Capital Chronicle
Funding nearly every Hoosier child’s K-12 education appears to be the goal of the Indiana state legislature. While this may be an admirable effort, the question is, should we? More importantly, can we afford it?
What is the state’s responsibility?
Under Article 8, Section 1 of Indiana’s state constitution, all children are guaranteed the right to “a general and uniform system of Common Schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all.” Instead of focusing on this duty and funding public education, our state legislature has been pursuing what it calls “school choice.” Hoosiers have always had the choice to go to private schools, but now, thanks to legislation, the public pays for much of it. The public never voted for school choice.
Open to all?
Public schools serve every child who walks through their doors–regardless of background or ability. Nearly 90% of Hoosier families choose public schools. Yet, Indiana is now seen by “school choice” advocates as a model state with public tax dollars siphoned away to privately managed schools. Indiana’s families now have over 300 private schools to choose from in which public funds can be used to help pay for tuition. However, these various “choices” do not actually allow all families to do the choosing. Many private schools can and do deny students based on gender, developmental ability, religion, LGBTQIA+ status or entrance exams. Even if “the money follows the child” in Indiana, the student’s rights (under federal law) do not always do so. Is this “equally open to all?”
Separate but equal?
Originally sold to the public as a means by which children in poverty could “escape failing public schools,” the Indiana Choice Scholarship or voucher program is now nearly universal. A Choice Scholarship — the largest voucher program in Indiana — is around $6,000+ per child.
The average voucher student is now a white, elementary-aged girl who lives in a metropolitan area and comes from a household of around 4.7 people making around $100,000, according to an IDOE report. The legislators’ plan to remove all income requirements will transform the voucher program into something unrecognizable from its 2011 origins and what was first sold to the public. This shift is evident in the numerous schools where 100% of students now use vouchers to help pay for tuition. We Hoosiers are funding two separate K-12 school systems (three, if you include charter schools). Small rural communities are particularly burdened by this effort by paying for “choice” with their tax dollars when there actually is no choice other than their public schools in their communities.
Who pays?
Despite educating significantly more students in hundreds more schools than in 2010, Indiana’s inflation-adjusted education funding has decreased dramatically. One researcher estimates a $603 million reduction on a per student basis. This has resulted in program cuts, an overreliance on grants, public school closures (some replaced by charter schools, which don’t improve the financial picture), teacher salaries lower than those in neighboring states, and repeated property tax referenda. The resulting disparity of programming and offerings for students is not a uniform system–nor is it fair to Hoosier children. Indiana’s ranking has dropped to 37th nationally in per-pupil funding. Furthermore, from 2002 to 2020, Indiana had the second-lowest inflation-adjusted increase in education spending nationwide at a mere 1.9%. This underinvestment in education will have lasting consequences for Indiana’s future.
A budget reflects our priorities.
The first iteration of the state’s budget bill (HB 1001) estimates the cost of universal vouchers at nearly $100 million more per year, pushing the expense closer to $600 million annually. Meanwhile, a handful of tax-cut bills threaten the budgets of our public schools. Is it fair to force communities to raise taxes for education through referendums while simultaneously diverting public funds to private school vouchers? What about communities that are unable to do so? The Indiana legislature has a constitutional duty to fund public education. Laws pertaining to our public schools ensure that they are accountable and transparent with Hoosier tax dollars. There are no such laws for voucher schools.
Every child deserves a school that is fully funded and provides them with all they need to thrive. An entitlement program for the wealthy to pay private school tuition should not come at the cost of our most vulnerable children. When it comes to our kids’ future, we can’t afford it.
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Women of 250 honors women past, present and future, including C.J. Walker
This video spotlights the initiative and includes a look at Madam C.J. Walker’s enduring influence while encouraging viewers to nominate women who have made a difference today.
As dozens of people and music filled Indiana Avenue, Sampson Levingston gestured to the scene around him as evidence of a return to the area’s history as a hub of Black life and music.
“This is what Indiana Avenue is supposed to be. Black people having a good time on a Saturday in the summer,” Levingston said. “That’s our history. That’s our story.”
The fifth annual Legacy Fest, organized by the Madam Walker Legacy Center, honored that story on June 19 and 20. A block party with food trucks, vendors selling one-of-a-kind jeweled hats and patchwork denim, jewelry, and live musical performances capped off the Juneteenth weekend. The day before, Grammy-winning producer Teddy Riley performed in the Walker Theatre.
The block circles the Walker Building, a triangular African Art Deco theater topped with a red sign easily spotted in Indianapolis’ skyline. The 1927 building is the last building still operating in its original state on a street once filled with Black-owned businesses but now dominated by fences and parking lots.
After being forced by a former downtown Indianapolis theater to pay a “Black tax,” Walker promised to build a theater without discrimination. The building was home to Walker Manufacturing Company and a 1500-seat theater, the only theater without race-based discrimination in the city at the time. The theater still regularly puts on shows and holds the Madam Walker Legacy Center non-profit responsible for and supported by the Legacy Fest.
“There’s a lot of BS going on in the world and the country. You can get sad about it and pout,” Levingston said. “Madam Walker addressed the issue.”
Levingston runs Walk & Talk, historic walking tours allowing participants to literally step into Indianapolis’ Black history. On June 20 he led a group away from the music and crowd of Legacy fest and around the block, stopping at historic centers of the community such as Lockefield Gardens and the former Second Christian Church. On the tour, Levingston spoke about the impact of redlining and zoning restrictions on reducing the neighborhood’s density and businesses. In the Green Book, a travel guide listing businesses safe for Black Americans, most Indianapolis stores listed are on Indiana Avenue. Now the block is mostly residential. A closed convivence store is vacant and the Second Christian Church is a single-family home.
“Imagine if they won’t let people borrow for decades and decades how much wealth that drips out of a community,” Levingston said. “That’s why when you walk around you just see parking lots.”
Julia A. Royston, a Legacy Fest block party vendor, has been publishing books for 18 years. Many of the books she publishes are centered on increasing representation and putting out voices other than traditional publishing houses.
“No matter what season of the world we’re in, there’s still an opportunity for us to tell our story our way,” Royston said.
Lucy Tobier is the politics reporting intern for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at lucy.tobier@indystar.com or on X at @TobierLucy
Bloomington South’s Ellie Barada discusses state title win in 800m
Bloomington South senior Ellie Barada secured her second consecutive state title in the 800 meters at the IHSAA girls state track and field meet.
The USATF U20 Championships took place on June 18-19, while Nike Outdoor Nationals ran June 18-22 in Eugene, Oregon.
Some of the top high school track and field athletes, including recent graduates, fared excellent when the lights were the brightest.
Here are the top results from Eugene last week.
Ellie Barada
Barada, a Bloomington South graduate, qualified for U20 Worlds with a second-place finish (2:02.72) in the women’s 800 meter run. She won gold in the mile (4:34.25) at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The North Carolina recruit also ran anchor leg for the winning 4000-meter state distance medley relay team, which combined for a time of 11:36.99.
Noah Bontrager
Bontrager, a Westview graduate and Notre Dame recruit, won the U20 men’s 3000-meter run (8:32.53).
Collin Bumgardner
Bumgardner, an Indiana State recruit and Danville state champion, placed 12th in the boys 200 finals (21.49) and 16th (10.71) in the 100 finals at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Ellie Cooley
Cooley represented Carmel with a sixth-place finish (129-08) in the girls discus Emerging Elite event at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Rylan Hainje
Hainje placed first in the prelims of the 110 hurdles (13.44) before he placed third (13.36) in the finals of Nike Outdoor. The Franklin Central grad and Marian recruit suffered a false start in the 110 hurdles of the U20 prelims.
Konrad Hayden
Hayden placed 11th in the boys high jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Fishers graduate recorded a leap of 6 feet, 8.75 inches.
Kallen Hoeft
Hoeft was a member of the mixed 4×400 relay team that finished as runner-up at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Hamilton Southeastern quartet of Hoeft, Anissa Lammie, Jaxson Wanza and Chloe Senefeld ran a time of 3:30.01.
Lexi Kollbaum
Kollbaum was a member of the winning state distance medley relay team. The Bloomington South junior placed 36th in the 800 and 40th in the mile at Nike Outdoor.
Anissa Lammie
Lammie placed sixth (54.54) in the 400-meter dash at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She was also a part of the mixed 4×400 team that placed second with a time of 3:30.01. The Hamilton Southeastern junior ran the 800 leg for the winning state distance medley relay team.
Kaitlyn Oshimura
Oshimura, a Carmel graduate, placed fourth in the 1 Mile Emerging Elite race with a time of 4:55.64. She also placed 39th in the 800-meter run at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Jordan Randall
Randall, a two-time high school state champion for Warsaw, placed fourth in the high jump at both U20 (7-01.75) in the men’s event and Nike Outdoor Nationals (7-00.50) in the boys event.
Chloe Senefeld
Senefeld ran the 400 leg for the winning state distance medley relay team in the state category at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Indiana quartet of Senefeld, Barada, Kollbaum and Lammie took home gold with a time of 11:36.99. She was also a member of the second-place mixed 4×400 team. The Iowa recruit was a national runner-up (59.27) in the 400-meter hurdles. She placed sixth (58.54) in same event at U20.
Kira Smith
Smith was a runner-up in the girls high jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She recorded a jump of 5-feet, 10.75 inches.
Jaxson Wanza
Wanza helped Southeastern earn a runner-up finish in the mixed 4×400 relay at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Marc Ray is a high school sports reporter at the IndyStar. He can be reached at marc.ray@indystar.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
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