Indiana State Budget
Posted by Mike Sylvester - 6/30/09 @ 6:13 pm - Filed Under Featured, State Politics
I spent most of June on vacation and so I have not been posting in June. My family just got back from a 19 day trip to Europe late last night…
Both the Democrats and Republicans in the Indiana legislature have completely failed in their primary duty this year; to pass a two year state budget. It was so bad that legislators were called into a special session since they completely failed to pass a budget during the regular session.
This disaster is the fault of both Republicans and Democrats; however, I stand with Mitch Daniels and the Republicans and support their budget rather than the budget proposed by Democrats.
I have read everything I could find on this year’s budget standoff and it looks to me like there were three major differences between the two parties:
1. Mitch Daniels and the Republicans wanted to keep a rainy day fund in place with a minimum of one billion dollars while the Democrats wanted to spend more of the rainy day fund. One billion dollars is really a pitiful rainy day fund since it amounts to less than one months of Indiana’s operating expenses and I certainly stand with the Republicans on this one.
2. School funding. The Democrats want to spend more money on education. I have two kids in the public school system and I think we need a strong education system; however, we cannot afford to increase education spending at this time. The Republicans and MItch Daniels have supported little to no increases in K-12 school funding.
3. The Democrats support the archaic school funding formula that has been used for a long time in Indiana. This formula benefits schools that are in urban areas and schools that are actually shrinking. The current school funding formula is absurd and should be abolished. The Republicans want to change the formula so that school funding is more evenly distributed. I would like to see the Republicans go even further; I think the state should give a set amount per student; period. Right now NACS gets the lowest amount per pupil in the state. I think that the state should pay a flat amount per student per year.
It is truly pathetic that our state could not get a budget passed without a special session.
Mike Sylvester
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1. Apparently they’re not expecting too much rain. Personally, I think the skies look mighty cloudy. I agree with you on this point.
2. I don’t have any kids, but I also think we need a strong education system. Unfortunately, people often throw money out when money is not the main problem.
There is no way to force the people who manage our education system to act responsibly with our money other than to set a per student cap. In a time when the general economy is floundering, I think the burden is on proponents of increased spending to show definitively why this is needed and how it will provide a net benefit to everyone concerned. I don’t think they’ve done this, so I agree with you.
3. A lot of spending decisions are long-term and must be made in advance of their implementation. Schools must decide well before the current school year begins how many teachers they will need to employ, how many buildings to operate, etc. To expect them to wait until they see how many students actually sign up for the year would create an unworkable situation.
My main question is how long is the phase-out period currently. I admit that I am ignorant on this, but that is my main point of contention here. I think there has to be some amount of transition time allowed for declining school districts to adjust in a reasonable manner.