State budget ends a $155-per-student textbook grant; district cites grant loss and enrollment decline in a $1.5 million annual shortfall
Who it touches
- Vigo County School Corporation families
Tracked in the archive
Stifel consultant Chad Blacklock told the oversight board that a 2023 state law barring Indiana public schools from charging families for textbooks came with a grant — about $155 per student — to help schools cover the cost in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, but the state's 2025 budget eliminated that grant while leaving the no-charge rule in place. 2023 law bars charging families for textbooks, 34:11 $155-per-student grant, then removed, 34:44 0:35:17 — open the recording, cued to 35 minutes 17 seconds
A Vigo County Schools administrator said the change, combined with the district's declining enrollment, amounts to a net loss of about $1.5 million a year. 0:35:45 — open the recording, cued to 35 minutes 45 seconds
More from the record
- Board moves to adjournment after the presentation, 1:16:411:16:41 (1 hour 16 minutes 41 seconds)
- 2023 law bars charging families for textbooks, 34:110:34:11 (34 minutes 11 seconds)
- $155-per-student grant, then removed, 34:440:34:44 (34 minutes 44 seconds)
Outcome
No vote taken; reported as an ongoing budget pressure during a school-finance briefing.
No vote was taken on the presentation; the board moved to public comment and adjournment after the briefing. Board moves to adjournment after the presentation, 1:16:41
This summary was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor against the recording and documents linked above. Nothing publishes without a resolvable source.