As Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ravages the country, many people have begun to adapt to daily life under the “new normal.” Many people were concerned about the impact the virus would have on the future. Chief among those worried were educators who had only recently received budget increases they had fought years for. Many sources, including this publication, speculated about the long-term effects that lost tax revenue could have on schools. Many places have seen this fear come to true, but Gov. Holcomb announced that Indiana would not be one of those places.
According to Governor Eric Holcomb, the state’s K-12 schools will be “spared the knife.” Actually, Indiana K-12 schools will receive about $180 million more. Colleges and universities were not as lucky as their budget was cut by about 7%.
Other non-educational parts of the budget were cut by about 15%. A fact that the governor used to highlight that education was a top priority for the state.
The budget has been met favorably by the local education leaders. Indiana state superintendent of public instruction, Jennifer McCormick, agrees with the decision to not penalize schools for circumstances out of their control:
I am pleased our state decision makers will not cut funding from Indiana K-12 education. The Department’s recommendation to not penalize schools for virtual options was also granted. Schools will have one less stressor as they continue to educate our students during this unprecedented time.
Watch the full address below: