Dear Editor,
Hoosier taxpayers have a record they can be proud of when it comes to funding K-12 students.
In other states, recessionary budget cuts for K-12 have been deep and widespread. Reductions of 10 percent or more have become the norm. Some have curtailed calendars or slashed statewide programs.
Here in Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels and legislators have worked to protect tuition support. Adjusting for declining revenues, Indiana reduced state agency budgets by 15 percent - or more - before school funding was trimmed by 3.5 percent as a last resort. With K-12 receiving about half the state's budget, most realized if trends continued, reductions couldn't be avoided.
Through the years, Indiana has been steadfast in supporting student success. Lawmakers have increased overall education funding every year since 1995, including a 10 percent increase during the first five years of the Daniels administration. Indiana's average funding per child per year hovers around $10,000. Indiana's average teacher salary, when adjusted for our low cost of living, ranks seventh in the country. In 2008, during the worst recession in generations, Indiana teachers' salaries rose 2.2 percent statewide while average Hoosier workers' decreased by 2.4 percent.
This displays how important student funding is to state officials and how hard lawmakers work to keep it the top priority. Political critics may often lash out about school funding, but rarely mention financial hardships faced by Hoosiers today. Taxpayers' ability to fund government is always limited, but especially during a recession. Indiana residents from both parties are passionate about promoting academic excellence and prioritizing student funding. We are as committed as any voters and any legislators in any states to quality educations for our children and grandchildren.
As Indiana heads into a new budget-writing session, K-12 will surely remain our priority and the biggest slice of the pie. But, we must all understand the deep national recession has now made that pie smaller for everyone.
Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville)
Chair, Indiana Senate Committee on Appropriations
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