Indiana lawmakers gathered Saturday for the State Legislative Breakfast, hosted by the Crawfordsville/Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, to discuss key legislative priorities affecting residents.
The panel featured State Reps. Jeff Thompson (R-District 28), Beau Baird (R-District 44) and Matt Commons (R-District 13) and State Sen. Brian Buchanan (R-District 7) and Spencer Deery (R-District 23).
Among the most pressing topics were property tax reform and funding for education.
Rising property tax bills were the top concern for both lawmakers and residents. Buchanan acknowledged that many Hoosiers have experienced their tax bills skyrocketing by 30-40% in recent years, driven by home value assessments. While the state’s average tax increase last year was 17-18%, officials estimate this year’s increase will be around 7%.
Buchanan emphasized the complexity of property tax reform, noting that property taxes fund local governments, schools and public safety services, making reductions a difficult balancing act.
Buchanan explained that some property tax dollars don’t go to the state government. They go to cities, counties and school corporations. He said the goal is to find a solution that provides relief without gutting essential services.
Thompson, who is working on a comprehensive 200-page property tax bill, indicated that while short-term relief measures are in discussion, long-term restructuring is necessary to address disparities in tax burdens.
Thompson said the bill addresses short-term adjustments with a long-term vision.
Education was another focal point of discussion, with lawmakers addressing Indiana’s recent improvements in national education rankings as well as the future of school funding and voucher programs.
Deery highlighted Indiana’s significant gains in national reading proficiency, particularly in fourth and eighth-grade levels, where the state jumped from 19th to sixth place nationally.
“We should celebrate the fact that we are not in that continuing decline group, and we gotta give a lot of credit to our teachers, to Dr. Katie Jenner, the Secretary of Education, and all the work that’s been going across the state to make sure that our reading programs are working, that we’re in evidence-based practices,” Deery said.
However, concerns were raised about Gov. Mike Braun’s proposal to expand school choice by removing income caps on state-funded vouchers for private and charter schools.
Local residents expressed concern that rural public schools could lose critical funding. However, Thompson argued that the funding disparity between public and private schools remains significant, with public schools receiving twice as much per pupil as voucher-supported private schools.
Thompson said the reality is that those with higher incomes are already carrying a significant tax burden and should have access to state resources just like anyone else.
Another major topic was the state’s proposed cuts to the Frank O’Bannon Grant program, which provides financial aid to Indiana college students. Wabash College Dean of Enrollment Chip Timmons voiced concerns that these cuts would negatively impact at least 168 students at Wabash alone, amounting to a loss of nearly $600,000 in aid.
Thompson acknowledged the issue, stating that discussions were underway to preserve aid for currently enrolled students, though funding for future students remains uncertain.
The Indiana READI program was another topic discussed during the breakfast.
Tom Klein, Montgomery County Administrator, raised concerns about potential funding cuts to the program that helps support local development initiatives.
Buchanan responded that discussions about READI funding were still ongoing, and said, “It’s all up in the air at this point.”
To gauge public sentiment on property tax reform, Buchanan asked attendees whether they favored major tax cuts — which could impact local services — or minor adjustments to stabilize tax bills.
Most attendees supported the second option, preferring modest reforms over sweeping changes.
With many legislative proposals still in committee, lawmakers stressed that final decisions on tax and education are still months away.
