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State rolled curriculum line into education fund; PHM flags $200–$250 per-student shortfall
Summary
Administrators said Indiana's decision to move curriculum materials into the education fund reduced the district's dedicated funding stream; PHM estimates roughly $200–$250 per student of underfunding, or about $1M–$1.3M districtwide.
CFO Zach Wyatt told the Penn-Harris-Madison board that a 2024 state policy change moved curriculum-materials funding into the general education fund, ending the district's separate curriculum materials fund and altering local budgeting mechanics.
Wyatt explained the prior mechanism: a dedicated curriculum fund allowed large one-time purchases (adoptions) to be amortized and could be supported by fee collections and reimbursements. "It was a self-contained fund," he said. Under the new model the state funds about $150–$160 per student but Wyatt said their calculations show a gap of about $200–$250 per student versus what PHM historically paid, producing an estimated district shortfall in the low millions.
He told trustees that without a standalone curriculum fund the district lacks the same internal levers (fee collections, transfers from debt service) to smooth large adoption costs and must manage those pressures within the education fund alongside salaries and classroom needs. Board members asked for a more detailed break-down of the per-student calculation; Wyatt said the administration would follow up with the math and budget scenarios.
