INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -
Republicans have rejected Democrats’ calls to specify in Indiana’s state
budget how much money is going toward traditional public schools, charter
schools and the private school voucher program.
Democratic
lawmakers say it is a question of transparency at a time when Republican
Gov. Mike Pence is proposing increases in state funding for charter schools
and vouchers that his administration estimates could reach nearly $50
million over the next two years.
Democratic Rep.
Terry Goodin of Austin said lumping all money for school programs together
leaves the public unable to easily know how the state money is being spent.
“Where is that
money going?” Goodin said. “Is that money going to the charter schools? Is
that money going to the private schools? Is all that money going to the
public schools? People are confused at home.”
Pence’s spending
plan submitted to the Republican-controlled Legislature on Thursday would
boost school funding by 2 percent in the budget’s first year and by 1
percent in the second year, for a total increase of about $200 million.
It would give
$1,500 more per student for charter schools at an estimated cost of $41
million over the two years. It also raises the school voucher program’s
limit on per-student funding, which the Pence administration projects will
cost $4 million annually.
Chris Atkins,
Pence’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the
administration wasn’t considering itemizing the school funding expenditures.
He said the current funding process “supports all three different avenues to
get kids and families better quality options.”
Democrats maintain
that Republicans are blindly committing the state to more spending on
vouchers and charter schools without having a good idea of how much it will
cost.
Participation in
the private school voucher program has grown from about 3,900 students when
it started four years ago to an estimated nearly 30,000 this school year.
The program’s cost to the state has jumped from about $16 million in its
first year to some $80 million for the 2013-14 school year, according to the
state Department of Education.
Some 35,000
students were enrolled last year in charter schools, which House Democrats
say received $229 million in state money. A little more than 1 million
students were enrolled in Indiana’s public schools last year, with K-12
spending making up nearly half of the current year’s $15 billion state
budget.
Republican House
Speaker Brian Bosma said making separate budget lines for the school
programs had been considered, but that he was against the idea.
“My thought was for
those who don’t like charter schools or don’t like voucher programs, it’s
easier to cut something that’s separated,” he said. “I’m a fan of both
programs, along with the traditional public schools, so I think keeping them
unified is the best measure right now.”