Full-day kindergarten legislation stalls in House

INDIANAPOLIS -- Four days after Gov. Joe Kernan won a major vote to expand state-funded, full-day kindergarten, legislation he sought to make it available statewide in 2007 stalled in the democrat-controlled House on Monday.\nDemocrats have a 51-49 majority in the House, and it takes 51 votes to pass legislation in that chamber. But four democrats were absent, and none of 48 republicans present voted to support a proposed constitutional amendment that was part of Kernan's plan.\nHouse Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, accused republicans of blocking its passage for political reasons and said he was not optimistic it would survive. Kernan is a democrat seeking a full term this year, and control of the House will again be in play in the November election.\n"They certainly indicated today this is their solid political brick wall," Bauer said.\nBut House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, noted that most republicans have opposed Kernan's overall plan from the beginning. Among other things, they say a state facing a $1 billion deficit and other money problems should not be starting an expensive new program.\nEight republicans joined all democrats present last Thursday in passing a bill that would expand full-day kindergarten to 20,000 more children beginning this fall. Jump-starting the program over the first three years would cost about $90 million, with the money coming from a variety of sources.\nBut taking full-day kindergarten statewide counted on the passing of a constitutional amendment allowing money to be appropriated directly from the Common School Fund, and not one republican backed that part of the plan Monday in a 46-49 vote. One democrat voted "no" to preserve the right to ask for another vote.\nThe fund, created in 1851, provides low-interest loans to schools for building construction and technology improvements. There is about $200 million in the fund now, plus about $300 million in outstanding loans.\nAmending the constitution requires approval of a resolution by two consecutive General Assemblies and approval of the public in a statewide vote.\nThe legislation can be brought down for another vote, but this week is the deadline for measures to clear their house of origin. Bauer said if all 51 House democrats were healthy, they could pass the legislation on their own.\nBut two members are recovering from surgery and might not return this week, and Bauer said he feared republicans were "locked in a political position."\n"It's all about the fall election, no question about it," Bauer said, noting that republicans who voted for part of Kernan's plan last week knew its longterm funding relied on the constitutional amendment, too.\nRep. Vaneta Becker of Evansville, one of the eight republicans who backed the bill to jump-start Kernan's plan, said she was concerned about the long-term funding prospects.\n"You have a lot of these schools, on the basis of bills passing, who will go ahead and build buildings on the hopes that this referendum passes, and it may not pass," Becker said. "I think it's a very shaky funding mechanism from the beginning."\nRep. Jeff Espich of Uniondale, the fiscal leader for House republicans, said the Common School Fund had served a legitimate purpose for 152 years.\n"And now we see an attempt to raid this fund, if you will, to look under another rock to find another pile of money to spend because we have already spent all that is available," he said.\nKernan, meanwhile, noted that the legislation could be called for another vote this week.\n"I hope at that time House members will place the future of Hoosier children and our future work force, first," he said in a written statement.\nEven if it clears the House as the previous part of the proposal did, the chance of either part passing the republican-controlled Senate would appear slim. Senate GOP leaders have said the state was in no financial shape to start a costly new program.