The State Board of Education has moved to settle a school funding dispute.

More than 30 school districts started the year online. Existing law could have cut their funding by 15-percent if they didn’t resume in-person classes by mid-year, because under the letter of the law, they’d be classified as virtual schools.

Governor Holcomb proposed delaying the annual enrollment count which determines funding until December, in hopes things would be back to normal by then. The State Board of Education has taken a more direct approach: any student who was attending in person in February will count as an in-person student now.

S-B-O-E executive director Brian Murphy says the definition of virtual schools didn’t contemplate a pandemic forcing schools to hold classes online. He says it’d be unfair to penalize schools for trying to operate safely. He says board members looked at Holcomb’s proposed delay, but concluded it wouldn’t be practical because the count is needed for other things, including collective bargaining and federal funding calculations.

Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray (R-Martinsville) sparked the outcry with a letter to superintendents pointing out the law’s definition of a virtual school and the funding implications. In a written statement, Bray says his purpose throughout has been to make sure the law is followed. He says the board vote allows schools to receive their full funding. He says legislators will look at changes to school funding laws to account for the pandemic when they begin their session in January.