Local school leaders worry that legislation at the Statehouse could lead to cuts in service.
While the proposed budget bill would increase education funding by two percent each of the next two years, Lake Central Superintendent Dr. Larry Veracco says the increase for traditional public schools would be closer to 1.3 percent, after an expansion to private school vouchers. Meanwhile, he says proposed property tax reform would cut his district's operations fund revenue by roughly $1 million a year.
"While we can adjust to lots of other rules and requirements and extra trainings and fewer trainings, the money piece is what can really handcuff us, meaning it can really impact what we're trying to do for the students we serve," Veracco told the Lake Central School Board last week.
Veracco said the proposed changes come at a time when health insurance costs are up, NIPSCO is proposing as much as a 17-percent rate increase, and the cost of school buses is up 20 to 25 percent.
Hammond School Board President Carlotta Blake-King is calling on residents to reach out to lawmakers. "There are some bills out there that is an attack on public education, on our teachers, on our staff," Blake-King told the rest of the Hammond School Board last week. "They're taking away money. If it's not from the federal level, it's from the state level. We must get busy."
Still, Veracco applauded a measure to create a portal that would let residents to compare their current property tax rate to their rate after a proposed school referendum. "I think this is a benefit to us because, if we go for the same amount, the question on the ballot, as it's currently written, even if you are just doing a renewal and trying to keep your tax the same, the question has the word 'increase' in it," Veracco said.
Going forward, Blake-King said she wants School City of Hammond students to get involved in advocating for public schools at the Statehouse. "We need buses going down there," Blake-King told the rest of the school board. "We're going to ask our PTA to get involved with the phone calls."
The 2025 Indiana General Assembly has reached the halfway point, as bills move to the opposite chamber for further discussion.
