State Democrats outline 1-year budget plan-WEB ONLY

They plan to introduce a one-year spending bill tomorrow when state lawmakers
convene in a special session in hopes of passing a budget that meets Republican
Gov. Mitch Daniels’ approval by the time the current budget expires June 30.

The Democrat-led House and Republican-ruled Senate could not agree on a
two-year spending plan by the regular session deadline of April 29, forcing the
special session.

Daniels presented a two-year spending plan last week that would cut most agency
spending but increase funding for schools by a statewide average of 2 percent.
Republican leaders hoped Daniels’ leadership and a bipartisan House-Senate
committee would set a framework for building consensus on a new spending plan.

But House Democrats plan to file their own budget bill, with a public hearing
tentatively set for Friday and a possible committee vote on Monday.

Their plan covers one year, not the traditional two years, and they say it
would meet one of Daniels’ parameters by leaving a $1 billion surplus at the
end of the next fiscal year in June 2010. The Daniels administration has
proposed a traditional two-year budget that it says would leave $1 billion in
the bank at the end of two years.

Another key difference between House Democrats and Daniels and GOP lawmakers is
how funding for public schools would be doled out.

Although Daniels’ plan would give schools an overall average increase of 2
percent over the next two years, many suburban districts with growing
enrollments would get much more, and many poor urban and rural districts with
shrinking enrollments would lose money from the previous year.

House Democrats say many districts losing students still have rising costs for
teacher salaries, energy costs and insurance, and would have to lay off
teachers and administrators, cut programs and increase class sizes under
Daniels’ plan. The increases in his plan rely heavily on federal stimulus
dollars, which are to run out after two years.

Cathy Stephen, superintendent of Randolph Eastern Schools in eastern Indiana‘s Randolph
County, said her district
of about 970 students lost 47 students last fall and is expected to lose about
60 more over the next two years.

She said the district still has to maintain buildings and classrooms, but under
Daniels’ plan, would get about $500,000 less over the next two years and would
have to lay off eight teachers and some administrators.

Democrats said part of the money they would use to increase funding for schools
would come from $300 million in reserves. When asked by Republicans how they
planned to fund other proposed spending increases, Ways and Means Chairman
William Crawford (D-Indianapolis) said more answers would be provided Friday.

Ryan Kitchell, director of the state Office of Management and Budget, said
House Democrats’ plan wasn’t acceptable.