SPECIAL INTERVIEWS

Giving Schools More Fiscal Flexibility By State Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper)       With more than half of our state’s general fund dedicated to K-12 education, school funding is always an important topic for the Indiana General Assembly. This past legislative session, lawmakers passed House Enrolled Act 1009 to provide school districts with greater financial flexibility starting in 2019. Right now, school districts have some funds they can only use for specific purposes, giving them very limited flexibility with these dollars. By limiting the use of these funds into specific “silos,” many districts struggled with providing enough money for instructional costs. HEA 1009 eliminates these funding silos, providing school districts with the flexibility to use their revenue where their budget has shortfalls. This law does not change how the revenue is collected by property-tax levies, but does allow transfers between the money used for educational instruction and operating costs. HEA 1009 will help schools send more dollars to the classroom, which will support Hoosier children and teachers since districts won’t be limited in using their money for a specific purpose. By allowing schools to pool the individual property-tax levies into one fund for all non-instructional costs, schools will be able to better respond to shifting financial needs and priorities. This…