State heat subsidy needed in schools

With the price of natural gas on the rise, many public schools are struggling to pay their heating bills. Heating costs have as much as quadrupled since last year, and many schools must dip into their budgets to finance this unprecedented expense. This means funds that would normally pay for textbooks, staff development and salaries are going to pay for heat. And it is the students who will suffer.\n Gov. Frank O'Bannon and the General Assembly should consider subsidizing heating bills for Indiana's public schools. Subsidizing at least part of the heating bills for public schools in Indiana will allow more money for developing a brighter, better-prepared future for these students. It is a sad situation when school administrators must take money out of general funds simply to pay heating bills. The statewide natural gas shortage is not the schools' fault. It is not the schools' fault that this has been one of the coldest winters to date. \n None of this is the students' fault. Why should they have to pay for it?\n Although the governor wants to save most of the nearly 2 billion dollar budget surplus for a rainy day, schools using their own budgets should warrant using the surplus. Subsidizing these schools for a month or two is not going to deplete the budget surplus.\n ISTEP scores for many of these schools, especially those in inner cities with the smallest budgets for students and teachers, are falling below the 50 percent mark. These schools cannot afford to take resources from students. By asking these institutions to pay their heating bills with no assistance, students might lack necessary textbooks and equipment; adequate staff cannot be hired or retained; and the students ultimately suffer for it. \nIf O'Bannon wants to remain the "Education Governor" and keep his promises to citizens, he will do what is best for the students. He will subsidize the heating bills for Indiana public schools.\nStaff vote: 6-3-2