Kindergarten plan facing hurdles already

INDIANAPOLIS -- Full-day kindergarten, one of Gov. Mitch Daniels' top priorities, might already be facing political hurdles with only one day of the legislative session on the books.\nThough the concept is supported by members of both parties, some Democrats -- who control the House -- say increasing basic funding for schools is a higher priority than expanding full-day kindergarten. At least one member of the Republican-controlled Senate worries that state-funded full-day kindergarten will mean higher property taxes.\n"They laid off teachers, they have laid off personnel, they cut programs," new House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said Monday. "So first we have to fund them. My priority would be first to get a solid, good budget that does not increase property taxes, and then if we can do full-day kindergarten, we will do it to the extent that we can."\nEducation advocates say full-day kindergarten gives teachers more time to help students, especially those struggling to catch up with their peers.\nDaniels said he will lobby lawmakers on his proposal, which would phase-in full-day kindergarten over three years, starting with the state's neediest children next year. The plan would cost $54 million in the 2007-08 school year, but that would grow to $260 million a year by 2011-12.\nDaniels says the state is in the black and can afford to pay for full-day kindergarten that would eventually be available to all Indiana students.\nHouse Democrats, however, say the current budget, approved by a GOP-controlled Legislature, provided a minimal increase for schools that relied almost entirely on local property taxes. resulting in more than half of Indiana's districts receiving less money than before.\nDaniels said he plans to propose an "aggressive" funding increase for schools, which could help appease House Democrats.\nSenate Appropriations Chairman Robert Meeks, R-LaGrange, has other concerns. He says full-day kindergarten could force some school districts to increase property taxes to build extra classroom space.\nAbout 53 percent of school districts would need more classrooms to implement full-day kindergarten, according to a survey by the Indiana Department of Education.\nMeeks said the true cost of full-day kindergarten is not revealed in the governor's estimates.\n"You've got to look at the whole picture -- that includes local property taxes," Meeks said Monday in a telephone interview from his home, where he was recovering from a back ailment. "When you look at full-day kindergarten, you've just got the tip of the iceberg."\nSenate Tax Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said Meeks raises a legitimate issue.\n"As long as school buildings are concerned, it will be a property tax issue," Kenley said.\nPart of the reason Daniels proposed a three-year plan was to give schools time to prepare for full-day kindergarten, said Jane Jankowski, spokeswoman for the governor.\n"He realizes there are practical concerns to achieving this," she said, adding that Daniels hopes schools can look for creative ways to find classroom space.