School leaders raise fears, worries about funding plan

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Leaders from some of Indiana's poorest school districts said Tuesday they fear proposed funding cuts they're facing, while those from growing districts are worried proposed increases for them won't be enough.

Numerous school district officials testified before a state Senate committee about a House Republican-backed funding plan that would shift tens of millions of dollars to growing suburban districts.

That budget plan includes 2.3 percent increases in school funding the next two years, but includes funding cuts to more than a third of Indiana's nearly 300 school districts, many of which are in the poorest communities.

Fort Wayne Community Schools Superintendent Wendy Robinson told the committee she believed the funding proposal pits "haves and have-nots" against each other.

An enrollment decline of about 1 percent is projected for the 29,000-student Fort Wayne district, which would see an estimated funding decline of about $650,000 in the first year of the House budget plan.

"That's hard to explain to my community that thinks we're a pretty good school district when other school districts in the state are receiving 10 to 15 percent increases," Robinson said.

Officials from some suburban districts say their funding increases in recent years have been too small to meet their growth.

House Republican leaders made a top priority of closing the gap in per-child funding between growing and shrinking school districts they say had reached nearly $3,000. The House plan drops that to an estimated $1,600 for the 2017 budget year.

Officials from the Zionsville Community Schools in suburban Indianapolis said they've had classes with as many as 40 students as the district has had one of the state's lowest per-child funding levels.

Zionsville School Board President Shari Alexander Richey said such funding levels aren't sustainable for the district where enrollment has jumped by about one-third in the past decade.

"That will hurt our students, that will hurt our economy, that will hurt the economic development of our community and others like ours," she said. "Clearly, everyone loses in that."

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said he wanted his panel's school funding subcommittee to give the issue a fresh set of eyes and look for ways to possibly ease cuts some districts could face.

Kenley said providing some equity should be possible with a proposed $470 million in additional money going to schools over the next two years.

"As long as funding is going up for each child, then I think that gives you something to work with where you have a positive opportunity," he said.

Many of the districts that could see funding cuts are in rural areas where enrollments have declined.

Bloomfield School District Superintendent Dan Sichting said he understood the troubles that fast-growing schools face, but that his southwestern Indiana district will struggle with a projected 4 percent funding cut under the current proposal.

"We're robbing Peter to pay Paul," he said. "Let's be honest here. That's what's happening. We've got to be fair to all kids."