Government funding for private and charter schools will be the topic of an upcoming event hosted by South Bend NAACP. The forum scheduled for Saturday, September 6 will include discussions about recent legislation and the NAACP’s national call for a moratorium on new charter schools.
Last school year, more than 4,700 students living in the South Bend Community School Corporation received a voucher to attend a private school. That amounted to more than $34 million in state funding, according to the Indiana Department of Education’s Choice Scholarship Program annual report.
One of the speakers at the upcoming event, Indianapolis Public School Board member Dr. Gayle Cosby, says that can mean less money for traditional public schools. “Charter schools and now, also, private schools that accept vouchers are going to be receiving funding from the same pot of taxes that public schools receive their money from, and so we can expect to see some significant budget cuts,” Cosby said.
During this year’s legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly removed income limits from the Choice Scholarship Program, despite making cuts to other parts of the overall budget. Proponents say this gives families more choice in where to send their children to school.
But Cosby argues that districts like Indianapolis Public Schools were able to offer options like magnet schools, before outside charter schools came around. “I don’t think that school choice is a bad thing, but what I do think is a bad thing is thinking that school choice necessitates different governance structures outside of democratically elected school boards,” Cosby said.
She urges school board members to avoid partnering with charter schools in a way that hands over assets like buildings and buses, and she suggests keeping an eye on who’s funding school board candidates. “Any time you see exorbitant amounts pouring into school board races, I think that is red flag number one,” Cosby said.
She says she hopes to work with South Bend community members interested in fighting for public education.
The NAACP education forum will take place September 6 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Civil Rights Heritage Center on West Washington Street in South Bend.
