Contact legislators about funding

To the editor:

To say that Indiana House Bill 1005 has been a lighting rod for criticism may turn out to be the understatement of the year.

As House bill 1005 passed the House and moved to the Indiana Senate, the decision was made to not hold a hearing on it. Indiana State Sen. Jeff Raatz, chair of committee on education and careers, stated the bill had a robust hearing on the House side and nothing new could be presented.

The reality is this bill has created a firestorm since its introduction. Just a few examples. So far, 160 out of 298 public school boards have passed resolutions condemning the harmful effects of House Bill 1005 on public schools. Also the Indiana Superintendents Association, the Indiana School Boards Association, the Indiana School Business Managers Association, the city council of Martinsville Indiana and business leaders from Warsaw have voiced opposition to this legislation.

My favorite is Ball State University economist Michael Hicks, who writes a column that appears in Indiana newspapers. Hicks has written at least four columns in recent weeks on public education and adequate funding. The following is a quote from his Feb. 28 column — “Indiana is failing at the single most important thing the state does to insure a growing economy: educate our children and young adults.”

To avoid the firestorm on the Senate side, leadership pulled the provisions of House Bill 1005 and inserted them directly into the Senate appropriations bill. This legislation proposes to send millions of dollars of Indiana’s tax money and use it to increase support for private schools through the expansion of vouchers, the amount of those vouchers and a new provision, the educational savings account.

When this legislation left the House, $102 million out of the $378 million of new money would be diverted to support private schools. The Senate budget was passed last week and increases new money for education plus trims the amounts proposed by the House for vouchers and educational savings accounts.

Where does all of this go now?

Answer: Legislators from both the House and the Senate will meet to craft a compromise that can gain the necessary votes to pass both houses and then move a two-year budget to the desk of Gov. Eric Holcomb.

The concern is the amounts trimmed by the Senate chamber will be restored in the process of compromise. Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston has said that house negotiators would be working to help senators “see the light” on voucher expansion.

I can’t help but wonder if the $35,000 campaign contribution from Hoosiers For Quality Education in 2020 is influencing his support of voucher expansion.

What can you do to support Indiana’s public schools?

Please contact your state legislators and ask them to vote no on any expansion of vouchers and educational savings accounts. You can, in a matter of a few minutes, leave a message for your representative. The House number is (800) 382-9842 and the senate number is (800) 382-9467.

Phil Zicht

Winchester