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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday announced a plan to avoid a situation in which school systems that choose not conduct in-person classes due to pandemic concerns receive less than 100% of expected funding.
Holcomb said he would ask the Indiana State Board of Education to call a special meeting to delay the fall count of student enrollment, known as the Average Daily Membership, through at least December. That count is used to set new funding levels for schools.
State law, as written before the pandemic, requires school districts to receive only 85% of their per-pupil funding for students who receive at least half of their instruction virtually.
Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray sent a letter to school leaders last week that said there’s “no guarantee” schools that choose not to resume any in-person classes due to pandemic health and safety concerns will receive 100% of their expected per-pupil funding.
That created an outcry from school officials who didn’t think it was fair for their funding to be jeopardized by actions they feel might be necessary to protect students and school employees.
Holcomb said by moving the count date from Sept. 18, as now scheduled, until next year, schools will get their existing funding for the rest of the year. By then, the General Assembly will be in session and will have the ability to change the law, he said, if necessary.
The proposal would allow state lawmakers to avoid calling a special session to change the state law.
“This solution will put to rest lingering questions or concerns so schools can continue to focus on opening schools safely and educating Indiana’s students,” Holcomb said in written comments.
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Good move.
Schools that do not open should not get full funding. Another example of our politicians letting us down, we are not following science, we are following fear which is embarrassing and causing significant harm to our children and communities. Why is it that we expect the clerk at the grocery store or the bus driver or police or firefighters to show up for work and be there to serve our needs, yet our teachers cannot show up for our kids. This is a complete double standard and our teachers should be ashamed. Get back to work and teach our kids!
Teachers in a classroom are in a confined space with close contact with multiple people for a longer period of time than the others you mention. And parents, bless their hearts, do send their kids to school sick, as we all know and have already seen this year. If you are able to sign up as a substitute teacher, I urge you to do so, because there won’t be enough of them to keep the schools open when the teachers become ill.
Agree!!
Exactly, Ashlee B
Mary D. – Why do you bless the hearts of parents who send their kids to school sick? That’s absurd. Those parents are irresponsible and selfish. They are the kind of people of who spread illnesses and viruses, and yet you laud them.
I will come out of retirement to teach again if needed.
it was sarcasm Susie.
Thx Mary. My bad.
Friendly reminder: 2878 deaths in Indiana as of today. 6.7million Hoosiers. Death rate for the year from Covid is 0.000429552238806. Less than pneumonia deaths by a long shot.
Also, .01% of Covid Death under age 25 in Indiana.
Source: in.gov/Covid
No (in-person) school, no money. If I lived in a district that refuses to teach in school (which I don’t fortunately), I would demand a refund of that portion of my property taxes going to the school district.