The House of Representatives supported State Rep. Tony Cook’s (R-Cicero) proposal Monday that would help schools more immediately address their financial needs with additional funding flexibility.
Cook
Cook said currently, school funds are separated into three types including education, operations and rainy day. The education fund is used for all expenditures pertaining to student instruction and learning. The operations fund is used for maintenance of buildings, utilities, bus repairs and any other necessary operations. The rainy day fund serves as savings and can be used for one-time budget needs, like staffing expenditures.
According to Cook, House Bill 1167 would allow schools more flexibility when using these funds. Schools would be able to move money from their rainy day fund to the operations fund for expenditures, as well as transfer the unused money at the end of the year from the operations fund to be used for educational staffing expenses such as teacher bonuses and stipends.
“As a former educator, I understand that school funding is a complicated issue,” Cook said. “Providing school corporations flexibly to address their unique funding needs can help schools be more efficient and better utilize money for education.”
House Bill 1167 can now move to the Senate for consideration. Visit iga.in.gov to learn more about this legislation.
State Rep. Tony Cook (R-Cicero) represents House District 32, which includes all of Tipton County and portions of Hamilton, Madison, Delaware, Howard and Grant counties.