INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Public School music teachers Adrien and Zachary McLeod are sounding the alarm over potential statehouse changes that could put their jobs in jeopardy.
“The biggest concern for us is music departments, music programs, fine arts. That’s going to be on the chopping block. For our family, that means both of our jobs are at risk,” Adrien McLeod said.
The Mcleod family was joined by dozens of teachers and parents advocating for public education at the Indiana State Capitol.
Kathy Fuentes-Rohwer, president of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, is tracking over 130 bills that prioritize keeping tax dollars within public education.
“This is what unites us, and we cannot afford to break that apart or let it become dismantled,” Fuentes-Rohwer said.
Fuentes-Rohwer is concerned that the state is continuing to take money from public schools and instead offer it to waiver programs and charter schools.
“If we can't fund the schools where all children come together, it's going to be a detriment to our communities, it's going to be a detriment to our children, and ultimately it would be a detriment to our democracy," Fuentes-Rohwer explained.
Currently, only a fraction of the proposed bills are advancing through the Indiana House and Senate, but advocates remain hopeful that the state will prioritize public education.
“We all want a future that’s filled with educated people. We want progress as we move forward as a country. And if we hurt education, we hurt our future," Adrien McLeod said.
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A full list of the bills that the Indiana Coalition for Public Education is monitoring can be found on their website.
