Hammond state lawmakers comment on school closures

Last week, the board of the School City of Hammond approved plans to consolidate the district by closing three of the elementary schools. The consolidation is said to save the district $5.6 million and will involve redistricting that will impact over 1,100 students, and 173 educators will be laid off. The day following the decision, the district closed down as many teachers called off to protest the closures and subsequent layoffs. 

The School City of Hammond made this decision to avoid state intervention after 71% of voters rejected a school referendum this fall. This measure would have renewed the operating referendum approved in 2017 and delivered critical funding needed to avoid mass layoffs and school closures. The referendum would have continued to levy $0.44 per $100 for assessed property value. According to the Indiana School Boards Association, the property tax caps that went into effect in 2009 have reduced funding for Indiana school corporations by more than $3.5 billion. 

“With this referendum, the people of Hammond have made it clear: they do not want to keep picking up the tab for public schools Republicans have abandoned,” Harris (D-East Chicago) said. “Public schools still are educating the majority of Hoosier children, yet they've been given the smallest percentages of funding increases in the last few budget cycles, as opposed to a larger and larger percentage of peoples' hard-earned tax money going to charter schools and voucher programs for private schools.

“It's death by a thousand budget cuts, and the people of Hammond deserve a tax code that supports educators and students instead of punishing them.”

“If the current status of the School City of Hammond is an indication of anything, it is that the state needs to reexamine how we fund public schools,” State Rep. Carolyn Jackson (D-Hammond) said. “The Indiana Constitution states that we must provide free public education, but year after year Republicans prove how little they value that provision. 

“It should never have gotten to this point. Public education should not be so dependent on property taxes that a community faces mass layoffs and school closures when they decide they don’t want to front the bill for something the state is required to fund.” 

“In looking at the factual history of school financing, prior to the implementation of the property tax cap, there had never been a Statewide issue concerning adequate public-school funding,” State Sen. Lonnie Randolph (D-East Chicago) said. “I recognize prior history did not have the burden of vouchers for private school or the addition of charter schools.  However, in looking at the facts, I believe the majority party should reexamine legislation concerning the property tax cap’s issues.  Maybe it needs repealing.

“If nothing else, this will give all interested educational parties additional facts in which to examine the financing of public schools. I believe this will go a long way in relieving the lack of confidence taxpayers have in the State funding of our public schools, which the majority party claims is the number one priority in passing our State budget.”