Parents who choose school vouchers say removing the income cap would make the system simpler and more equitable. But public school advocates say the cost of expanding vouchers comes at a price to traditional public schools. (Brandon Smith/IPB News)
Lawmakers want to remove the income cap on Indiana’s school voucher program. Parents who choose vouchers say that would make the system simpler and more equitable. But public school advocates say the cost of expanding vouchers comes at a price to traditional public schools.
The state’s Legislative Services Agency estimates voucher expansion would cost Indiana about $183 million over two years. That money would come from the same pot as traditional public schools’ state tuition support.
Christa Wynk said her children use vouchers to attend a private Catholic school — when they’re eligible. Her family’s income is so close to the cap, it varies each year depending on her husband’s bonus.
“This income is never guaranteed to us year over year, and we never know until the very end of the year whether we will receive it. Therefore, we don’t know if we will qualify,” she said.
Other voucher parents close to the income cap or who own their own businesses said they also struggle with the uncertainty of receiving vouchers for their children. One parent said her family found themselves ineligible for vouchers because of an inheritance that was less than the total cost of her children’s tuition.
Some public school parents said voucher expansion places school choice above traditional public schools that teach about 90 percent of Indiana students.
Hamilton Southeastern parent Janyll Stierwalt said she is concerned about the cuts her district could face due to the budget and several other bills.
A proposal to dramatically scale back school revenue from property taxes was tempered in the Senate. But traditional public schools could be forced to share property tax dollars with some local charter schools. Coupled with the voucher expansion in the state budget and a potential increase in base teacher pay, officials say the losses and limitations on traditional public school funding could be severe.
“I saw estimates of $24 [million] to $30 million that my daughter’s school district would lose with the new proposed funding,” Stierwalt said. “Tightening the belt is not going to make that palatable.”
Public school educators also expressed concern at the idea of removing the income cap on vouchers. Mooresville Schools Superintendent Jake Allen said public schools need funding for safety and student mental health more than ever. A potential school shooting was prevented last month in his district.
“Yet with future funding in question and rising operational costs such as transportation, utilities and insurance, schools are being forced to make difficult financial decisions,” he said. “I fear that without sustained funding, these critical programs will be at risk.”
Other school officials said textbook fees will further strain school tuition support.
Lawmakers passed a law in 2023 that bars public schools from charging students for curricular materials. Indiana took on that cost and initially allocated $160 million to schools, but it was far from enough. Some schools faced gaps close to $1 million.
School funding for curricular materials was a separate line item in the budget when it was first passed. But that line item was removed from the proposed budget this year and added into the same bucket as tuition support and voucher expansion.
“It is a budgetary stressor for our school districts,” said Batesville Community School Corporation Superintendent Paul Ketcham. “It is a tall task to increase teacher salaries when schools must absorb these additional curricular materials costs within their foundational funding.”
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In addition to discussion about state tuition support, some parents, students and educators also advocated for increases to funding for Secured School Safety Grants, gifted learning, dual language immersion schools and Career Scholarship Accounts.
Students spoke to lawmakers about their experiences with the Career Scholarship Account program. CSAs were created during the 2023 session to provide students with money for career training in high school. That funding was fully disbursed this school year, and some students were put on a waitlist.
Margaret Bloomer is a student at Cardinal Ritter High School who became interested in nursing after her mom spent time in the hospital. When Cardinal Ritter started offering a nursing pathway, Bloomer said she had to participate. She used CSA funding to cover the cost of scrubs, equipment, background checks and testing fees.
“My class has started clinicals where we take care of the residents in a long-term care facility. The clinical experience confirmed that this is the right field for me,” she said.
Bloomer and other students asked lawmakers to increase the amount for CSA grants so more students can receive funding.
Safety is another area of the budget education leaders would like lawmakers to prioritize. Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, asked lawmakers to boost funding for Secured School Safety Grants, which largely fund security equipment and school resource officers.
"The total request last grant cycle exceeded the grant appropriation in the budget by $8 million," he said. "We'd like to see an increase there."
The state budget is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Kirsten is our education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair.
