Indiana – Dr. Phil Downs

September 23, 2024September 23, 2024

Cumulative Voucher Program costs since 2017-18

Recently I went back and constructed a spreadsheet that added up each school district’s cost/share of the Voucher Program going back the 2017-18 school year when I started to track this. I added a cumulative cost/share column next to the name of each school district.

The list is sorted by the four digit school id number. You see this number on school busses.

I am protecting the sheet, but believe you can do a search and type in your school district’s name to find it quickly.

The spreadsheet can be found here.

January 12, 2024May 28, 2024

2023-2024 Indiana Education and Voucher Funding Summary

While the overall Indiana General Fund Budget has grown faster than inflation, growth in Indiana’s budget for public school personnel has not. As of October of 2023, the current budget to pay the majority of the personnel in public, charter, and voucher-receiving schools is $232M behind the 2009-10 budget when inflation is taken into account.

All comparisons run from Jan of 2010 to Oct of 2023 unless noted.

The Consumer Price Index (inflation rate) has grown by 41.99%.

The Indiana General Fund (i.e., monies legislators control) has grown by 62.46%, much better than inflation. The state has a lot more money to spend than it did in 2009-10 relative to inflation.

The K-12 Tuition Support Budget has grown by only 38.37%, well behind inflation. The Tuition Support Budget funds nearly all personnel working in public, charter, and voucher-receiving schools.

January 9, 2023January 9, 2023

2022-2023 Indiana Education and Voucher Funding Summary

While the overall Indiana General Fund Budget has grown faster than inflation, growth in Indiana’s budget for public school personnel has not. As of October of 2022, the current budget for the majority of the personnel in public, charter, and voucher-receiving schools is $590M behind the 2009-10 budget when inflation is taken into account. The current budget, at the time it passed, significantly made up the difference on a year to year basis; however, recent spikes in inflation have eaten those gains.

January 5, 2023January 7, 2023

Voucher Impact 2021-2022

Submitted by Phil on Sun, 03/13/2022 – 15:01

The link below will take you to a google sheet with the latest voucher/financial data

January 5, 2023January 7, 2023

Voucher Impact 2020-2021

The link below will take you to a google sheet with the latest voucher/financial data

January 5, 2023January 7, 2023

Voucher Impact 2019-2020

The link below will take you to a google sheet with the latest voucher/financial data

January 5, 2023January 7, 2023

Voucher Impact 2018-2019

Submitted by Phil on Sat, 12/15/2018 – 11:35

The link below will take you to a google sheet with the latest voucher/financial data

January 5, 2023January 7, 2023

Address to the 2019 Indiana School Board Association Conference

Submitted by Phil on Sat, 10/05/2019 – 10:34

In 1949, my parents were 10 years old, Harry Truman was president, the Mann Gulch fire revolutionized the study of forest fires, the Berlin Blockade ended, Mao Tse Tung became the premiere of the People’s Republic of China, the Geneva Convention was signed, Lucky Lady II performed the first non-stop circumnavigation flight of the planet, 1984 was published, NATO was established, Newfoundland joined Canada, the world’s first commercially available computer, The Ferranti Mark 1, was released, and the first ISBA/IAPSS conference was held. It is my profound honor to be addressing the 70th ISBA/IAPSS conference. Congratulations everyone.

January 5, 2023January 7, 2023

Indiana Education Spending

Submitted by Phil on Sat, 04/20/2019 – 07:51

Indiana Education Spending

Here is a fact: from 2009 to 2018 the Tuition Support budget used to pay Indiana’s public and charter school teachers has grown by 13% while inflation has grown by 17%, and the total Indiana General Fund Budget grew by 21%. There is money in the General Fund to bring Education funding up to inflation. Our elected officials made a choice to move money away from public and charter educators and are failing to live up to the responsibility to fund public education they took on in 2009.