Republicans cancel financial lifeline to public schools

Indiana House Republicans will not move forward with House Bill 1259, a cleanup of Senate Enrolled Act 1 (2025), their property tax system overhaul bill. The bill would have allowed counties to adopt an additional local income tax to generate revenue for Indiana’s public schools, recouping some of their losses from SEA 1. In 2028, public schools would have $340 million in potential revenue if each county adopted the optional tax.

The amount each school corporation would have received with the optional LIT tax is available here. 

State Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis) released the following statement: 

“Our public schools are hurting. The majority continues to give private and charter schools full-course meals, while public schools get the scraps. 

“This optional county LIT is a crucial lifeline for our public schools. I cannot overstate how desperately they need this source of potential revenue. Large school districts are worried about their ability to grow, while our smaller schools face layoffs, consolidations and a reduction in services. 

“It's clear Republicans have no interest in supporting the overwhelming majority of families who choose public schools. They failed to provide homeowners with lasting relief. They defunded our public schools with SEA 1, and they had the opportunity to reverse course, but they failed.”