Prior to the unveiling of this year’s first House Budget draft, my hope was that it would be structurally balanced, and continue to protect Hoosier taxpayers while also restoring funding to education. Chairman Brown’s budget went three for three.
In the budget we have operated under during the past two years, Indiana spent over $13 billion on K-12 education (47% of the budget). Indiana spent another $3.4 billion on higher education (12% of the budget). Providing sufficient funding for K-12 and higher education is incredibly important, hence why it makes up 59% of our budget.
As an educator, I am pleased to see numerous investments in education. In our new proposed budget, there are following increases:
•$344 million in school operating funding over the next two years
•$197 million in fiscal year 2014 for full day kindergarten
•$203 million in fiscal 2015 to fund full day kindergarten
•$150+ million each year of the biennium will be transferred to the Tuition Reserve Fund
•$10 million over the next two years to recruit STEM teachers to schools that need them most
•$6 million to fund dropout prevention programs
Our leadership has taken a prudent conservative approach by maintaining healthy reserves, protecting Hoosier taxpayers while also restoring education investments. I look forward to following the budget as it works through the legislative process.
