Ladies and gentlemen, the governor is at it again. This time, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is offering his budget proposal, which will probably establish how Indiana spends money for the next several years.
Because Republicans hold super-majorities in both the House and the Senate in Indiana, Gov. Pence will have no problem pushing the budget through the legislature and into ?practice.
However, the Editorial Board has an issue with the budget — it’s awful.
A main sticking point for the budget is education. It’s no secret that Gov. Pence abhors Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, a Democrat who crushed Republican incumbent Tony Bennett in 2012.
Since then, Republicans in the Statehouse and on the State Board of Education have been seeking to stifle Ritz’s voice on all matters related to education.
Superintendent Ritz has also been an outspoken advocate for public ?education as opposed to charter schools, a more privatized form of education.
Essentially, charter schools are ?publicly-funded institutions that ?tend to operate more like private schools. They have limited space and can be operated by private for-profit companies.
Ah, corporations in the classroom. That sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? That’s strike one for Pence’s budget.
The Editorial Board is opposed to charter schools on the basis that they oftentimes do worse than traditional ?public school systems, according to a case study by Brookings, an independent research institution.
Gov. Pence is calling for a $200 ?million increase to the state budget for education. Out of this allotment, $41 million is in the form of increased ?tuition support for charter schools, at the tune of $1,500 per pupil.
To us, the increase in educational expenditures for charter schools is a sign that Indiana charter schools are not operating to achieve their original intent — to be cheaper than public schools.
Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, agrees with this assessment, saying “the representation was made to us when we started charter schools that they could do the job for less.”
Paying more money for a supposedly “cheaper” form of education? Strike number two, Mr. Pence.
The governor’s plan also expands vouchers for students. Vouchers take several thousands of dollars of taxpayer money per student away from public schools in order to pay tuition at private institutions instead.
Essentially, if you are unhappy with your public school, you can go to a ?private school, taking away valuable funding from the public institution that it needs to improve and better itself.
Punishing poor schools by taking away funding?
That’s strike three. Gov. Pence’s approach to education, to the Editorial Board, is reprehensible and lacks a basic understanding of the needs of students across the state.
And considering that, while facing revenue shortfalls he failed to account or prepare for, Gov. Pence cut IU’s budget by around $10 million, we cannot help but conclude that Gov. Pence is not a friend of public institutions.
If the governor likes private and charter schools so much, he should become the CEO of a corporation or become a bishop of a church.
Until then, Pence is the governor of the Indiana State Government, a public institution that ought to be supporting public education.
