Indiana Teachers Rally Focuses on Property Tax Bill
STATEHOUSE – Indiana Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith addressed concerns Monday that schools could be defunded or abolished, calling the claims inaccurate. Beckwith spoke at a rally at the Statehouse, where more than a hundred teachers were joined by students, parents, aides, advocates, and lobbyists opposing the Property Tax Bill.
“What might be trimmed back a little is maybe you won’t be able to build that football stadium or maybe that natatorium won’t be accomplished,” Beckwith said. “I think we are always going to fund education very well in the state. Again, we give billions of dollars.”
The rally came as several bills this session address public school funding, including Senate Bill 1, the property tax bill, and Senate Bill 518, which would require public schools and eligible charter schools to share property taxes and future referendum funds.
Ashley Brown, a teacher at Rousseau McClellan School 91, expressed concern that fine arts programs could face cuts first.
“I am an art teacher at IPS. There is a lot of uncertainty about whether we are going to lose that amount of money,” Brown said. “I know historically, due to the nature of a lot of funding, it has to go with testing. Our kids aren’t tested for the fine arts. That’s where a lot of our funding comes from — that testing.”
Keith Gambill, president of the Indiana Teachers Association (ISTA), said schools aren’t receiving enough funding to operate effectively, especially with inflation adding pressure.
“And that’s really putting our school districts in a very tight situation,” he said. “And then Senate Bill 373 has language that would allow school districts to sidestep collective bargaining agreements.”
Several school districts were represented at the Statehouse on Monday, as thousands of Indiana children had to learn online while their teachers pushed for continued funding amid concerns over the property tax bill.
