INDIANAPOLIS — Outrage from public school officials over dismal funding in the next two-year state budget prompted lawmakers to add a twelfth-hour K-12 spending boost in Indiana’s spending plan in
Republicans hailed the 2023 legislative session as one that saw “generational investments” in education, health care and economic development. Democrats wonder how much more could and should have been done.
Under pressure from local schools and fellow Republican lawmakers, GOP leaders opted to decrease the amount dedicated to paying down the unfunded liability in pre-1996 Teacher Retirement Fund and shift an additional $312 million to K-12 schools.
The last-minute increase followed criticism of how much a draft biennial Indiana budget provided for a major increase in the state’s K-12 voucher program.