Indiana public schools are losing teachers, and students are paying the price. In a new statewide survey, nearly all superintendents who responded said the state's property tax overhaul, Senate Enrolled Act 1 (SEA 1), will hurt their school budgets. Many districts are already cutting jobs to make ends meet.

The Indiana General Assembly and Governor Mike Braun have the power to stop this. When lawmakers set the next school budget, they must give public schools enough money to keep teachers in the classroom.

The numbers are hard to ignore. The Indiana Coalition for Public Education sent its survey to 290 superintendents in August, and 144 answered. Nearly half said they are eliminating some teaching positions. When districts that plan to or are thinking about it are included, that figure jumps to 93%. Half have already let support staff go.

Those cuts reach students fast. A volunteer with the coalition said many rural districts report class sizes are growing. Others are weighing cuts to school transportation, electives and field trips, and one superintendent worried about losing career pathways and dual-credit courses. "We cannot continue to do more with less," one superintendent wrote in the survey, as reported by the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Local voters can't always fill the gap. Among superintendents who responded, 39% said their communities didn't support a referendum, so many districts are cutting staff instead. Superintendents estimate schools need between 1% and 25% in one-time funding, plus about 6% more each year after, just to keep current services.

Parents, teachers and taxpayers from every political background want strong neighborhood schools. Property tax relief and well-staffed classrooms don't have to be a trade-off. State leaders can deliver both.

Sign the petition to tell Indiana lawmakers to fully fund public schools before more teachers are cut from classrooms.