JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- There will be no cuts to K-12 public education in Indiana this coming school year amid worries of budget constraints because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the news Wednesday, just a week after the state announced a 7% cut to higher-education funding.
"I'm pleased — beyond relieved but pleased — to arrive in a position where we're in full agreement with our friends upstairs in the House and Senate," said Holcomb, a Republican.
Indiana budgets for two years at a time, so the budget for the 2020-21 school was already set and included a $183 million increase in funding year over year. That increase will remain in tact, as well.
The news was a relief to districts that feared their state money could be slashed to make up for the state missing its projected revenue by between $3 and $4 billion.
"There was this kind of worry for districts throughout the state that we could take a double hit with budget cuts from the state but also the potential for enrollment to go down," said Mark Laughner, superintendent of Greater Clark County Schools.
Holcomb had previously warned that state funding could face 15% cuts "across the board" because of budget woes created from the pandemic. Instead, Holcomb said K-12 education was "spared the knife."
The state also announced that students who receive online instruction would be funded at 100% rather than the previously mandated 85%.
"If we lost funding for 1000 students, that would be huge blow to our budget," Laughner said. "The fact that we get funded for those students that choose the virtual option at 100% is huge."
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