Indiana School Voucher Participation Up 3.4%; See Local Numbers

By Mike Perleberg (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - More than 300 southeastern Indiana students are using Indiana’s School Choice Scholarship program to attend a private school this school year. This is the seventh year for the publicly-funded voucher program which helps families afford a private school education. Each year, the Indiana Department of Education publishes a report on the impact of the program. According to the 2017-2018 report released in February, at least 312 students in public school corporations in Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland counties are using the vouchers. An exact number could not be calculated because four area school districts had fewer than 10 voucher recipients, and the department does not disclose those figures due to privacy concerns. The figure is a slight decrease from at least 318 area students who benefited in the 2016-2017 school year. Batesville Community Schools lost the highest number of voucher students at 93, a vast majority of them choosing to instead attend St. Louis School. Those students are receiving a total of $299,670.02 in voucher money that may have otherwise gone to the public schools. The Indiana School Choice program is helping a record 35,458 students statewide, an increase of 3.4 percent over last year. However, participation may have began to level off after a 12 percent increase in 2015. Participation in the program is largest in metropolitan areas. Nearly 61 percent of voucher students live in a metro area, compared to 23 percent in suburban areas and just 16 percent in rural or town settings. Depending on household size and income, the program can cover up to 90 percent of a student’s tuition to a private school. About 70 percent of voucher recipients this year come from families that qualify for free or reduced-price meals.   Indiana Choice Scholarship - By Private School School ICS Students 2017-18 ICS Students 2016-2017 Scholarship Award Amounts to School 2017-18 Scholarship Award Amounts to School 2016-17 Oldenburg Academy 65 63 $256,196.32 $271,408.54 St. John Evangelical Lutheran Aurora 27 19 $83,730.00 $54,902.89 St. Lawrence Lawrenceburg 41 37 $128,626.52 $116,250.54 St. Louis School Batesville 94 87 $286,162.70 $256,998.77 St. Mary Aurora 41 53 $119,190.74 $160,890.77 St. Michael School Brookville 34 31 $32,455.32 $28,200.00 St. Nicholas School Sunman 21 * $86,193.91 * St. Paul School Guilford (closed) 43 $126,316.16 -    * =  Counts less than 10 have been asterisked to comply with FERPA.    Data source: Indiana Department of Education   Indiana Choice Scholarship - By School District Corporation ICS Students 2017-18 ICS Students 2016-2017 Scholarship Award Amounts to District Residents 2017-18 Scholarship Award Amounts to District Residents 2016-17 Batesville 93 86 $299,670.02 $274,347.40 Franklin County 47 43 $75,485.09 $85,059.98 Jac-Cen-Del * * * * Lawrenceburg 14 17 $54,745.23 $57,935.83 Milan * * * * Rising Sun-Ohio County * * * * South Dearborn 76 77 $250,203.61 $244,585.05 South Ripley 17 14 $41,717.95 $53,711.60 Sunman-Dearborn 65 81 $251,585.67 $230,591.64 Switzerland County * * * *    * =  Counts less than 10 have been asterisked to comply with FERPA.    Data source: Indiana Department of Education