EDITORIAL: Add count dates for fair support

The launch this year of Indiana's school voucher program — the biggest debut of any voucher program so far — has been a success. Nearly 4,000 students are in private schools as a result.

This is not to say that traditional public schools are bad, nor that private schools are necessarily good. Rather, the value of this program is that parents have a choice on where to send their children.

The demographics for voucher recipients drive home the point that this is a matter of providing parents a choice. Almost 85 percent of the voucher recipients participate in the free and reduced-price lunch program, an indication that parents who otherwise could not have afforded a private school education for their children now have an option.

Ambassador Academy in Gary, with 110 new students because of the vouchers, drew more vouchers than anywhere else in the state. St. Stanislaus School in East Chicago was second with 80 vouchers.

"If you tell me that Ambassador is a good school for you, then the money for your education goes to Ambassador," Gov. Mitch Daniels told a group of students during his Dec. 14 visit to the school.

The principle that the money should follow the student should be irrefutable. But making this problematic is that Indiana currently doles out state support for schools based on a single enrollment count date.

What if the student changes schools during the academic year? Shouldn't the dollars follow the student when that happens?

Glenn Tebbe, executive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference, and John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, told The Times Editorial Board that having multiple enrollment count dates would make this easier.

That makes them allies, on this issue at least, with state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, a staunch supporter of traditional public schools. Smith is a former school principal.

Smith has called in the past for multiple count dates because some students start out in a private or charter school, then transfer to a traditional public school when the charter or private school proves unsuitable for that student.

He should renew that push in the next session as a matter of fairness.

Modify the school funding law to indicate at least two enrollment count dates to make sure the funding is equitably distributed if the student changes school at or before semester's end.