The bill includes more than $480 million in new spending on K-12 funding and a new funding formula which changes how that money will be distributed. The stated goal of the redesigned formula is to create a more equal dispersal of government funding per student. The change will allocate more money to suburban schools and less to schools in urban areas.
“We actually got a little bit more of the pie than last year,” Dirk Ackerman, the principal of Edgewood High School in Ellettsville, said. “IPS went down quite a bit which to me was pretty offensive.”
Though most schools in Monroe County fared well with the new distribution model, Ackerman said he is upset that schools that need the funding most won’t receive an increase.
“When you go to these suburban schools surrounding Indianapolis, it’s almost like you’re on a college campus,” he said. “Those who have, have a little more and those who don’t, have a little less. In my opinion, it’s ?politics.”
