DeLaney holds press conference on status of education funding
Yesterday (Oct. 2), State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) held a press conference to discuss key findings from a report prepared at his request by the Legislative Services Agency (LSA). LSA is the nonpartisan agency responsible for assisting the Indiana General Assembly in matters of research and fiscal analysis. This report contains historical data for education expenditures dating back to 2011, the year that Republicans became the majority party in both houses of the state legislature.
“In recent years, any discussion of education funding in Indiana turns into an argument of who is getting what between public, private and charter schools. The fact of the matter is that funding for education as a whole in Indiana has decreased since Republicans took over the legislature. According to the data in this report, total funding for schools of all types has dropped from 44.3% of the state budget in 2011, to 39.8% in 2024.
“As stated in the Indiana constitution to which the legislature is beholden, we have two responsibilities: pass a budget and maintain a uniform system of public schools. Currently, public schools in Indiana educate nearly 90% of students.
“It comes as no surprise that funding for traditional public schools has taken the biggest hit from the reduction in education funding, from 43.1% of the state budget in 2011, to 36.4%. As a result of cutting state funding for education, we have put pressure on property taxes charged to Hoosier homeowners. School districts have no choice but to turn to local property tax revenue to get adequate funding to continue providing students with an education.
“At the same time as these funding cuts, we have seen our state college-going rate drop alarmingly. Approximately 8,000 fewer Hoosier high schoolers each year go on to pursue post-secondary education today than would have been expected in 2011.
“The 2025 budget session is quickly approaching. While the legislature likes to get way off topic when it comes to education, it is essential that we address how much our state has devalued our education system. Instead of making teachers walk on eggshells while trying to discuss the topic of book banning, let's give them the funding they need to teach their students how to proficiently read and write. Instead of concerning ourselves with forcing university professors to pass ideological tests, let's instead focus on how to fill their classrooms with Hoosier high school graduates.”