On Tuesday March 11th, the Indiana Coalition for Public Education was invited to join an excellent panel of educators and legislators to discuss current legislation affecting the funding of public schools. As president of ICPE, my husband and I attended this important conversation, along with neighbors in our hosts’ community of the Butler-Tarkington and Crown Hill neighborhood. 

Our wonderful ICPE board member, Dountonia Batts, represented ICPE on the panel. Her passion for public schools, but more importantly, her concern for all children, was reflected in her on-point comments. She reminded us that there is one pot of money (tuition support budget) for state K-12 funding which comprises the bulk of funding for traditional public schools. She also pointed out that when we move/shift/take funding from the traditional public schools to fund charter schools, it results in a significant loss of essential funding. Dountonia also explained that charter schools get federal funding that our neighborhood public schools do not have access to.

From Dountonia: “So here we are, moving all of this money away from traditional public schools, and in particular, IPS, and expecting IPS to educate…children [with disabilities and other challenges as well as advantages..but who are more expensive to educate] and it’s not fair.” To which an audience member responded loudly, “A-men!” and the audience applauded.  

Rachel Santos, IPS Director of External Affairs, reiterated that in IPS the effects of SB 518, along with the sharing of referendum money with charter schools that is already in effect from past legislation, would likely be the closing of 20 schools. She also said that they don’t yet know what the rest of the consequences would be for a loss of significant funding. 

Dr. Gwen Kelley, from the NAACP, pointed out that “the voucher program, if you look at who’s taking advantage of them, is predominantly white students, parents and families, and the charter schools have turned out to be predominantly African American or students of color. And so, we have, in effect, resegregated schools.” 

Dr. Russ Skiba, professor emeritus from Indiana University, reminded the audience that the history of school choice and tax dollars going to private schools away from public schools, is grounded in a history of racism. Vouchers began as a way of avoiding the integration of public schools after Brown v. Board of Education. 

Dr. Pastor Thomas Brown sits on the Board of the Andrew J. Brown Academy charter school and was one of its founders. He talked about being one of the first charter schools in Indianapolis and some of its history. He talked about how National Heritage Academies gave the school the funding to survive back in the day. He acknowledged that he learned a lot from the conversation that night.

Sen. Andrea Hunley pointed out that SB 518 actually does NOT give any extra money to charter schools and that we should be furious about this bill because its rhetoric makes us fight one another, charter v. public schools. She said it is not where the fight should be. According to Sen. Hunley, SB 518 decreases the money the state currently pays to charter schools and replaces  it with our local property tax dollars. There is not one more dollar going to charters; it’s simply putting the burden on the local property taxpayers instead of the state.

Teach for America Indianapolis Executive Director, Dr. Temika Holden-Flynn, spoke at length about the teacher shortage. She said that TFA Indianapolis has dropped from bringing in 500 teachers to just 40 teachers this year. I’m not sure if that is the lack of popularity of TFA or if that is reflective of the fact that not even they can get people to go into teaching–however it happens. 

More charter proponents, including the authors of SB518 and other legislators, were invited to this event but did not accept the invitation.

Rep. Greg Porter told the audience that they must get engaged. He said that committee members often see the same people, the same lobbyists time after time, but when they see new faces from the public, they sit up and pay attention. Get involved and speak out, was his message. 

ICPE Board member Dountonia Batts closed with: “It isn’t a question about which school is better, it’s a matter of who funds these schools and who is accountable to that public school funding.”  Her messages: We need to organize. Get the information from the Indiana Coalition for Public Education. We need to come together. We need to wake up and we need to pay attention to what is going on at the Statehouse. 

 The forum was moderated by Amelia Pak-Harvey of Chalkbeat Indiana. 

 We hope that everyone continues the momentum of talking to neighbors and friends, family and community members, to pressure, urge, and demand that the legislature fully fund our neighborhood public schools. Public schools are the heart of our communities which serve all children. We must keep that heart beating and strong.