Indiana Senator Randy Head met with Argos Community Schools Superintendent and Argos Elementary Principal Michele Riise, members of the school board, school staff and interested citizens from the community this week. Head wanted to meet with school officials after missing them in Indianapolis during the session.
Senator Head discussed the session and his thoughts on education. The school funding formula is headed up by the caucus by Senator Ryan Mishler. Head said he’s had conversations with him and said, “His theory has been to make the amount of money for each child in public education to be the same state wide.” He said the transition to that has been going on for a couple of years. They have also moved from the Free and Reduced Lunch to more verifiable programs such as SNAP and welfare assistance.
Head talked about the “runs for each school” and said he knew Culver was hit hard. Riise told the crowd, “We went up but were hit hard with the complexity, more than we were expected, $206,000.”
A school board member asked, “Could we look at just a onetime shot in the arm to help us.” Head suggested looking to see if the DLGF has been underfunding you. The corporation treasurer said she would look into it.
The librarian from the Argos Library asked if charter schools were doing better than public schools and if the state would continue to fund them. Head said, “We need to collect data to find out what works and what doesn’t. Right now it appears charter schools aren’t doing any better than public schools.”
Superintendent Riise asked about his feelings on school choice and the heighten marketing schools are crossing of district lines with buses. Head said some parents do it for the right thing, better education but some are doing it for the extras such as sports and that’s wrong. When speaking on the marketing Senator Head Said, “I don’t like it, they spend money on it and that’s money that could be going elsewhere. It’s a natural consequence. ”
Riise said, “Unfortunately we are having to use money that could be going to kids stay here.”
