By Joseph Slacian
Republican-incumbent David Wolkins and Democrat challenger Dee Moore met Wednesday night in an hour-long debate sponsored by Wabash County Farm Bureau.
Close to 60 people filled the Heartland REMC Community Building to hear the two candidates discuss their views on about a half dozen issues ranging from school funding and state-funded preschool to jail overcrowding and the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They also fielded a few questions from the audience.
About 52 percent of the state’s budget is earmarked for education, Moore said.
“However, since we started this so-called voucher program, our tax dollars for education now go to four different types of schools,” she said. “We are now funding 40 and a half percent of all funds needed for private education Private education has always been there. That’s fine and it has its place.
“But we hard working farmers …. Really don’t want to see our tax dollars going to private education. Fine, keep your schools, but keep our money local in our local schools.
Wolkins said it’s a fallacy that the state has cut education funding, agreeing with Moore that it is about 52 percent of the state budget.
“The Republicans have taken the position that we’re going to have the money follow the child,” he said. “You have more students, you get more money. Smaller districts are having troubles because they are losing students so they’re losing money. One of the fallacies is we’ve cut education funding. We have never, ever, in my 28 years, cut education spending.”
In 2009, he noted, schools received $300 million less from the state, but that’s because Gov. Mike Pence withheld the money.
“We did not cut it,” Wolkins said.
The entire debate can be viewed on Wabash WebTV.