Free textbook law raises questions for schools

Jul. 1—"I will tell you this upfront, if you don't have questions following this presentation, then you should have questions on this presentation."

That's how Tipton Community School Corporation Assistant Superintendent Scott Jaworski opened a discussion earlier this month with the Tipton School Board about Indiana's new free textbook law.

The law, part of the new budget passed by the Indiana Legislature earlier this year, eliminates textbook and curricular fees for Hoosier families.

The General Assembly set aside $160 million to help cover those costs.

It's a win for Indiana parents, students and families at a time where paychecks don't stretch as far.

And one would be hard pressed to find any educator who isn't on board.

"Fully in support of this," said Tipton Superintendent Ryan Glaze. "I think it should have been done years ago. I've always felt like charging for textbooks in Indiana has been unconstitutional, completely."

However, there's a big catch.

The $160 million from the state won't cover the entire cost of textbooks, and schools are expected to make up the difference.

The difference is thousands of dollars that will come out of a school's education fund — the fund dedicated to teacher salaries.

For some schools, the amount to be covered is the equivalent of a teacher salary, if not multiple.

It's left administrators scratching their heads as they stare down tough decisions.

An unexpected shortfall

Taylor Community Schools is estimated to lose $125,000 under the new textbook law.

The state will provide a flat rate of $151.88 for each student for textbook and curricular fees. That per-student amount will not cover the full cost of every student. What isn't covered is what schools have to make up.

"I'm going to have to find it," said Renae Adams, Taylor's treasurer.

With schools likely having to use education fund money to make up the difference, it will reduce how much money schools have to hire and pay teachers. It also complicates contract negotiations with teacher unions.

Adams said Taylor schools might have to leave an open teacher position unfilled.

"It's going to make me wait until the last minute (to fill an opening)," she said.

The loss for Western School Corporation is estimated to range anywhere between $125,000 and $175,000. Superintendent Mark DuBois said they are looking at dipping into the school corporation's rainy day fund to cover the difference.

A school's rainy day fund is built up over many years and serves as a savings account, meant to cover unexpected expenses. The rainy day fund has the broadest use out of the main school funds.

"We can cover it, but we'll be using resources we typically don't try to use," DuBois said.

The superintendent said he hasn't received a clear answer from the state if rainy day funds can be used to cover the school's shortfall. It's one of a seemingly endless list of questions schools haven't received a straight answer on.

The state's $160 million allotment applies to all public, private and charter school students. The reason why it doesn't fully cover the cost of each student — aside from not being enough money — is that curricular fees vary widely depending on grade level and a student's course schedule.

At Tipton, the average fees for a student in kindergarten through second grade is $73. For grades third through fifth, it's about $152. For Tipton High School students, it's $275.

So on average, Tipton schools has to find an additional $120 for every high school student under the free textbook law, which goes into effect Saturday.

Technical classes, Advanced Placement and dual credit classes can all drive up costs.

"You're at the mercy of what book the college is using," DuBois said.

More questions than answers

Eliminating textbook and curricular material fees was a major part of Gov. Eric Holcomb's budget outline. Indiana was one of seven states that allowed families to be charged for textbooks prior to ending the practice.

Free textbooks was the big selling point, however the inclusion of curricular materials has complicated matters.

Specifically, what constitutes curricular material.

And it depends on who you ask.

Indiana Code defines curricular material as "systematically organized material designed to provide a specific level of instruction in a subject matter category."

"That's a very vague definition, and the legislature has admitted this isn't really specific," Tipton's Jaworski said.

Textbooks obviously count as curricular material, as does hardware, software and digital content.

But what about calculators? Dissection animals for a biology class? Lumber for a construction class?

Can parents be charged for these materials or does a school have to provide them at no cost?

The Indiana Department of Education has told school administrators to ask their attorneys.

It's resulted in mixed answers.

"You have half the people saying you can't, and you got half the people saying you can," DuBois said.

Jaworski said the guidance Tipton received was to consider possible curricular materials on a sliding scale.

Lumber for a construction class is probably a curricular material, and the school should pay for it. Folders for an elementary student probably doesn't fall under the definition.

Lumber would be necessary for a construction class, however a student doesn't need folders to participate in a class goes the thinking.

"We don't have any real concrete answers on these that seem pretty obvious," Jaworski said.

In a general sense, attorneys told Tipton school officials the more expensive an item is the more likely it is on the school to provide it.

The unanswered questions are a point of frustration for many school folks.

"This really is the epitome of building the plane as you fly it," Jaworski said.

Creative solutions

Schools are looking at ways to recoup money that will be lost in paying for curricular fees.

Western School Board approved for the school corporation to possibly charge a communication fee.

This $28 fee would cover expenses related to the school district's messaging systems that notify families of weather delays. It also includes the Here Comes the Bus app, which tells parents when their child's bus will arrive.

"We've been told we can look for other things that aren't related to curriculum or supplies," DuBois said.

The communication fee isn't a for-sure thing, yet. The board's approval only gives Western the ability to charge the fee if needed. $28 from every student who attends Western would somewhat soften the blow of losing upward of $175,000.

"We're at a loss on how we offset this shortfall," DuBois said.

Tipton School Board members and Superintendent Glaze discussed ideas like Amazon Wish Lists for each grade level. Glaze said if teachers can't ask for certain items on school supply lists, an Amazon Wish List could be used to source needed items, noting Tipton's generous community.

It could be a viable option, given the community support behind the school's My Closet, a clothing pantry that gives away new, free clothes to students in need.

"I'm willing to look at anything along those lines to figure out how to recoup some of this," Glaze said.

Additionally, the IDOE is expected to publish a list of approved textbook vendors schools can choose from. However, this isn't expected until next summer, and the department has advised schools against entering into multi-year contracts with textbook vendors until then.

Tipton School Board put off approving new science books for this reason.

"It's no longer we get to decide what textbook we want to use, it's we get a smaller list we get to choose from, potentially," Jaworski said. "We're kind of in the dark for the next 11 months."

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.