Indiana schools won’t face funding cuts for most of their virtual students, the Indiana State Board of Education decided Wednesday.
The board’s unanimous decision also means students will be counted Sept. 18, as originally scheduled, rather than a date in December, which Gov. Eric Holcomb suggested prior to the decision to fully fund those students.
Schools will only get 85% funding for students who are learning virtually on Sept. 18 if they were also learning virtually during the student count day in February. Students who are learning virtually now but went to school in person in February will be fully funded, said Adam Baker, spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Education.
Before the decision, schools would have faced a 15% funding cut for each student who went to school in person less than half of school days this semester, even if they learned in person in February. The three largest school districts in Johnson County — Center Grove, Clark-Pleasant and Franklin schools — would have lost millions of dollars under that formula, and all six of the county’s public school districts would have lost more than $8.5 million combined.
Last month, the governor proposed delaying the student count altogether after school leaders expressed concern about a letter from Indiana’s Senate president, Republican Rod Bray, that alluded to possible budget cuts for schools not offering an in-person option for students, despite the ongoing coronavirus threat.
Bray emphasized that state law caps per-pupil funding for students who take at least half their classes virtually at 85% of basic tuition support. That would mean school districts that only offered online instruction to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 could lose 15% of their basic per-student funding, which would be $855 per student.
The biggest hits would have been at Center Grove and Franklin schools, where all middle and high school students are going to school just two days a week to combat the spread of COVID-19. Every student at those schools would have been funded at 85%. Center Grove schools would have lost almost $4 million, while Franklin schools would have lost almost $2.7 million.
The decision is a relief for Franklin schools administrators and families, Superintendent David Clendening said.
“That’s very, very nice news. I think it’s a win for both the schools and the parents. The parents decided they needed to choose a virtual option and this provides the school with an opportunity to provide a virtual setting. It’s a win for both of us,” Clendening said.
“I think everybody, from the governor to the speaker of the house to the senate majority leader, wanted to help schools and they needed to look at the law and figure out how to best put a stopgap in. The state board made a good move. Everybody wanted to get it done.”
Having virtual students funded fully will help with negotiating contracts for teachers and other staff members, said Kent DeKoninck, Greenwood schools superintendent.
“We know now how many students will get funded for the fiscal year and it allows us to have a better plan,” DeKoninck said. “We wanted to give our families choices during this time to learn virtually, and that was a great decision to help support us in doing that and not be paralyzed in offering alternatives for students and parents. It helps us with long-term financial planning.”
The decision was necessary due to the unique circumstances surrounding the pandemic, said Doug Arnold, Edinburgh schools superintendent.
“This is not a normal time; this is a unique pandemic,” Arnold said. “This clearly meets the definition of an emergency to make exception to the 85% (funding rule). It’s certainly a relief to hear. There are many positive repercussions. I see this very positively.”
Uncertainty still looms, though, with the February 2021 count date, as the 85% funding policy still hasn’t been changed beyond 2020. That uncertainty makes collective bargaining at Clark-Pleasant schools more difficult, Business Director Jay Staley said.
“It’ll make collective bargaining a little more difficult in terms of knowing the exact funds,” Staley said. “We have the commitment for the fall count date, but we don’t know about the rest of the year. We won’t know information about Feb. 1 until the General Assembly gets back into session (in January). We’ll proceed cautiously.”
Students from virtual schools won’t be funded at 100% because they would have been learning online regardless of the pandemic, said Brian Murphy, executive director of the state board of education.
"Those (students) were carved out to ensure we’re properly funding students learning virtually due to COVID, but we’re being fiscally responsible in not fully funding students who would be virtual regardless of the pandemic," Murphy said.
The change in the funding formula for this semester is the result of efforts by educators and parents to make sure it would happen by communicating with lawmakers, Indiana Department of Education Superintendent Jennifer McCormick said in a statement Wednesday.
“I am pleased the State Board of Education took action to implement the Department’s original guidance to provide 100% funding for impacted students who receive virtual instruction due to the pandemic associated with the fall count,” McCormick said. “I am grateful for the many calls and emails made by educators, administrators, parents and community members to our elected officials. This tireless advocacy created action and change.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Here is a breakdown of the funding decision by the Indiana State Board of Education:
- Students reported in the February 2020 ADM as attending school in-person who are reported in the September 2020 ADM as attending school virtually due to COVID-19 will be funded as though attending school in-person.
- Students reported in the February 2020 ADM as attending school virtually who are also reported in the September 2020 ADM as attending school virtually will continue to be funded at the 85% level.
- School corporations that were delivering 100% virtual instruction at the time of the February 2020 ADM will continue to receive 85% of full tuition support for their students.
Source: Indiana Department of Education
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