PLYMOUTH — Plymouth’s School board took time to examine legislation that was recently passed by the Indiana General Assembly, that will have a direct effect on schools in the state.
Superintendent Mitch Mahwhorter told the Board that SB 1, on property taxes, will have a major impact on school funding, but maybe not as much as many feared. The bill has been touted by supporters as saving money for homeowners by cutting the property tax and providing long-term tax reform.
Mahwhorter said that the bottom line for schools was a reduction in the operating budget for corporations around the state. He estimated that it might mean a reduction of as much as 5.1 percent of the operating budget for Plymouth.
Laura Kruyer, the head of the Plymouth Education Association, addressed another bill with the board that would make a rather drastic change to the state’s Teacher Appreciation grants.
Currently, all licensed teachers employed in the classroom, or directly providing virtual education, who are rated as effective or highly effective as of December 1st of the year the grant is awarded, can receive the grant that could be between $3500 to $7000 for a year based on the teachers ranking and the school enrollment.
Kruyer said that the new bill limits a school corporation to 20 percent of teachers who can be rated as effective or highly effective. It will be up to the corporation to pare down that total to meet the criteria, regardless of the actual number of teachers who could be rated in those categories. Based on the current numbers in the Plymouth corporation it would mean a reduction of teachers eligible for that grant.
Kruyer said it would lead to teachers questioning the corporation as to why or why not they were rated at that level. She urged the board to exercise caution as they approach the new process, saying that the corporation needs to be “very transparent” on how they make the selection.
