By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2010-01-03 19:50:19 | Word Count: 585
Indiana arrived at its destination of last resort last week.
Gov. Mitch Daniels, who has consistently argued that education dollars should be the last ones cut from the state budget, announced that public schools will lose $300 million in expected funding over the next 18 months. The move came after the state budget committee released an updated forecast that pegs revenues at $1.8 billion less than originally planned when the current two-year budget was approved this summer.
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In a state that desperately needs to improve student achievement and raise the education attainment of its work force, the move, while largely unavoidable, is alarming.
On Friday, the state Board of Education sent eight common-sense, albeit painful, recommendations to the governor for obtaining the required savings. They include curtailing school board members' benefits; closing underused buildings and selling unused buildings; reducing or eliminating travel expenses and association dues; imposing a hiring freeze on administrative positions; and exploring whether districts should be required to join the state's health insurance plan.
The proposals also include a salary freeze for all school district employees.
That last step is sure to draw howls of protest. But it must be considered in light of what wasn't recommended -- statewide layoffs or furloughs of teachers and other educators.
As with every other state, Indiana is reeling from the effects of the national recession. The dramatic drop in revenues has forced deep cuts in almost every area of the budget, and since K-12 funding consumes about half of total state spending, it was inevitable that the resources devoted to education would eventually take a hit.
Given that reality, district administrators and their employees must accept what private-sector workers have been forced to recognize for the past year or more. Hard times force deep and painful sacrifices.
It's not front-line teachers, often underpaid now, who most need to hear that message. As The Star's Andy Gammill documents on today's front page, district administrators are not only the best-paid school employees but also often the most pampered. How in good conscience can any public employee accept use of a $48,000 luxury car and gas when budgets for essential services have been slashed?
The quest to find savings can and should start at the top. The ranks of managers have been severely depleted in many private-sector companies as the recession has raged on. School districts must not be immune from the pressures to squeeze out efficiencies, including among the ranks of well-compensated administrators.
The budget process is all about setting priorities, and that fact becomes even more important when times are tough. Keeping teachers in classrooms must be a top priority. Challenging students with top-flight curriculum must be a priority. Finding ways to help at-risk students succeed must be a priority.
Retaining perks for superintendents? Not a priority.
Such cuts, to be clear, won't erase the $300 million gap in funding. But until school districts make the easy trims, it's hard to take seriously their supporters' pleas that education should remain off-limits at a time when budgets have been cut to the bone everywhere else.
