Gov. O'Bannon proposes solutions to budget crisis

INDIANAPOLIS -- In his annual address to the State last night, Gov. Frank O'Bannon made it clear that in spite of the state's budget crisis, maintaining that a commitment to education is at the top of his agenda. The governor promised that he would do "everything possible to protect our progress in Indiana's schools." \nThat would include raising cigarette and gambling taxes and restructuring property taxes. These tax increases will be unavoidable to offset a loss in state revenue caused by the dismal economic situation. \nPledging to fight for education, O'Bannon warned throughout his speech that the future of the state's economy depends heavily on a strong education system. \n"In a choice between those taxes and our schools, I will pick Indiana's children every time," he said.\nAchieving the governor's plans for education will be a difficult challenge. Indiana Republicans made it clear that they would oppose a tax increase of any kind. \n"Republicans are not here to raise taxes for budget bailout," House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said. "There's simply no need during recessionary times to raise taxes to balance the budget."\nHouse Majority Leader Mark Kruzan, D-Bloomington, said he supports the governor's stance on education, and emphasized the dire choice the state faces in maintaining that commitment.\n"If we don't pass the cigarette and gambling tax increases, schools and public university funding will be cut," he said. "It's already happened to higher education, and it could get worse."\nKruzan warned that if the legislature chooses to do nothing, tuition increases will certainly follow.\nBosma labeled the governor's proposal as a "knee-jerk" reaction. \n"I was struck by the choices the governor gave to the state," he said. "He asked us to choose between taxes and education. Those are false choices and misrepresentations."\nO'Bannon also celebrated the steps the state and IU have made in developing its research programs, specifically the Human Genome Project and the School of Informatics. Through state support, DNA mapping and communication breakthroughs have been made possible. \n"IU's new School of Informatics is training students for careers in what used to be the jobs of tomorrow but which are a critical and rapidly growing component of Indiana's economy today," O'Bannon said.\nThe School of Informatics at IU was established in 1999 as the first of its kind in the nation. It deals with the study of the psychological and social aspects of the field of information science.\nThe governor said although he was prepared to do everything possible to safeguard higher education, there were many challenges.\n"We cannot cut enough to make up that projected $3 billion revenue loss without jeopardizing the state's biggest expense-our public schools and our universities," he said.\nSen. Vi Simpson,D-Bloomington, said support for education cannot remain a top priority without raising revenue through tax increases. \n"The budget deficit is such that without the governor's plan or some serious plan that raises revenue with cuts, we will be in a situation where we will have to make deep, significant cuts in education," she said.\nShe said O'Bannon has a deep concern for education in this state.\n"It breaks his heart to think we will be taking steps backward," she said. "He is willing to take the risk to ask legislators to make tough decisions and do what's right for the state instead of what's right politically"