Teachers protest classroom cuts
INDIANAPOLIS – The president of the Martinsville Classroom Teachers Association did not mince words about the cuts in education spending.
“We’re in trouble,” said Justin Oakley. “These are bad times, and I think that it’s only going to get worse.”
Gov. Mitch Daniels’ annual State of the State Address echoed the economy’s negative effects on education spending.
“After growing education spending five years in a row, by a total of 12 percent, we were recently, reluctantly forced to trim it, by some three cents on the dollar,” said Daniels in the address. “But all across the country, education spending has been reduced by vastly more.”
With an estimated cut of $300 million in education spending, Oakley said educators are concerned.
“How are you supposed to cut that kind of money and not lay off teachers? It’s impossible. You can’t do it,” said Oakley.
For the Mooresville school corporation, this cut in education funding means the loss of around $750,000 from the state budget.
“I want to be optimistic that we won’t have to do a reduction, of course, but I can’t guarantee that,” said Mooresville Classroom Teachers’ Association President Jason Freeman. “I think we are better off than a lot of school corporations and worse off than others.”
“We thought we were bare-bones last year,” said Lauri Daum, Mooresville Classroom Teachers’ Association first vice president. “It’s going to affect the classroom one way or another.”
Before Daniels’ State of the State address on Tuesday, the Indiana State Teachers Association held a legislative kickoff at the Westin Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. During the kickoff, new ideas for solutions to the education dilemma were presented. ISTA’s proposal calls for using rainy day funds, as well as using cash balances. Other ideas to save on costs are to transfer some “overhead/operational/non-operational” monies and use them for academic funds. This proposal will be presented in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks.
“We think there will be thousands of cuts across the state if our plan is not enacted,” said ISTA President Nate Schnellenberger.
Some legislators feel that by working together, education professionals can alleviate some of the strain caused by the cuts.
“We would suggest very transparent discussions with teachers associations, school boards, with superintendents, so that everyone, everyone has skin in the game,” said State Superintendent Tony Bennett. “The one thing that should not happen is the first words out of anyone’s mouth should be to cut teachers. Is that to say you’ll never get there…no, but what should happen is everybody should come together and quantify everything they do in terms of how many teachers they can save.”
Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, agreed.
“We are going to be looking at a number of options to soften that blow,” he said.
Behning said by forgoing incremental increases, the state of Indiana could save an estimated $90 million.
He also said Indiana was only one of 16 states that had not made cuts in the last two years to education.
“We all recognize that state and country are hurting,” said Behning. “I think we all need to share in the solution.”
“I think it’s inevitable,” said Sen. Richard Bray, R-Martinsville, about the education cuts.
Bray also said he doesn’t believe the quality of education is based on the amount of money spent on it, and that Indiana has done a good job of not cutting education spending until now.
“I think there’s no way that you can say we’re going to cut $300 million out of the budget and not cut programs and not cut staff,” said Schnellenberger. “That $300 million comes to about four to four and a half percent average for each school corporation and there’s no way that school corporations can have their revenue decline that much without making substantial cuts.”
