Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Breaking News:


Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has passed away after a brief battle with cancer.

Holcomb Aims To Provide Some School Funding Certainty

WFIU/WTIU

Gov. Eric Holcomb and Republican legislative leaders want to provide schools with more certainty about funding for at least the first half of the new school year.

Funding became a huge question mark last week after Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) sent a letter to schools warning them they could lose 15 percent of state dollars if they don’t reopen to in-person instruction.

READ MORE: Indiana Lawmaker Says Schools Could Face Cuts If Offering Only Online Instruction

State law normally restricts funding for virtual education. But Holcomb said, amid a pandemic, he wants to ensure schools get what they need.

“Alleviate some of the concerns, some of that uncertainty about funding for our schools," Holcomb said. "They have done a yeoman’s job, heroic work; I know it’s been a herculean task.”

Holcomb wants the State Board of Education to delay the required count of students at every school until December. That would seem to ensure schools get 100 percent of funding for the first half of the school year.

But any further certainty would require legislative changes. Holcomb said that conversation happens when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.

“And we’ll have the benefit of seeing where we are four-plus months from right now with COVID-19,” Holcomb said.

Outcry from members of the Senate Republican caucus over schools not reopening to in-person instruction casts doubt over the potential for that legislative change.

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana 2020 Two-Way. Text "elections" to 73224. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on COVID-19 and the 2020 election.

In a statement, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick said Holcomb's proposal is just a delay.

"The Department [of Education] was informed late this morning of the governor’s proposed ADM count date delay. IDOE staff is in the process of reviewing for its potential financial benefits and consequences ... Hoosier schools deserve a solution to secure 100 percent funding as districts are bargaining, budgeting, and preparing for the next 18 months," McCormick said.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.