Letter: School funding needs to be more equitable

<p><strong>To the editor:</strong></p><p>Recently the news has carried several articles on school funding. On Dec. 6, Larry DeBoer wrote about referenda for added property tax revenue that had failed to pass voters.</p><p>He discussed why referenda passed and did not pass, but makes no conclusions until his second to last paragraph.</p><p>There he states the real reason why tax referenda do not pass. Some tax districts have low assessed value for their property. This shows the equity problem for school corporations in Indiana.</p><p>Wealthier districts have more money! They can fund newer buildings, more curricular offerings, higher salaries and lower class sizes. Therefore, students in Indiana do not receive equitable educations because their districts do not receive equal funding!</p><p>In 2010, Hoosiers voted to make the property tax caps a change to the State Constitution even though only 26 percent of the 36.1 percent of registers even voted on this question. That means only a little over 1/4 of Hoosiers voted for the tax caps.</p><p>This property tax cap disproportionally reduces the tax bill on higher valued property and means greater savings for people with greater incomes. Larger cities also suffer larger losses than smaller cities.</p><p>With $2 billion in the state savings account, local schools are struggling to pay bills. Elected officials do not want to use the savings to alleviate the school funding problems.</p><p>These financial problems are caused by property tax reforms set in motion by elected leaders, as mentioned by Kokomo Schools superintendent Jeff Hauswald in 2016. Local citizens need to combine efforts with elected leaders to find solutions for the losses but, are increases in local taxes the answer?</p><p>Elected officials do not suffer the consequences of tax increases that voters put into motion. They do not have to own the problems when the next election comes around.</p><p>This school funding problem was created by elected officials yet the voters are not holding them responsible.</p><p>Property tax reduction sounds good when proposed, but the consequences of the reduction to local government and schools is not felt for several years. Voters want to reduce their bills but want better education and local government services. Because the ballot boxes are controlled by those who vote, they are controlled by those with higher incomes, higher education and business.</p><p>If people want better schools, better teachers, better transportation and better safety for their children, they must get involved in either eliminating this constitutional change (which takes four years) or agreeing on new ways to fund schools.</p><p>Giving tax breaks to businesses proposing to bring jobs to an area or funding a system to make it easier for businesses to navigate state regulations to apply for business permits will not make this happen.</p><p>If businesses complains that they cannot find people to work for them with the education or skills they need, then they need to be willing to pay taxes to educate these people. If communities want business to want to locate in their area, then they need to spend their tax dollars on education so the citizens have the skills and education that the business wants. It will locate where it can find the best workers.</p><p>Citizens need to voice their concerns over school funding. They need to insist on fair solutions on taxes and equal funding for all school corporations. Instead of complaining about teachers, they need to improve teacher pay so the best teachers can be hired.</p><p>Indiana falls #31 in state spending per pupil; $6,673 in 2017. The national average spent on students was $11,934. New York state spent $21,200 per pupil. Are Indiana children worth less? Perhaps that is why they earn less and are hired less.</p><p><p><strong>Karen Vaughn</strong></p><p><p>Franklin</p>