It's hardly a surprise, but the Gary Community School Corporation does not want to be dissolved.
Indiana House Bill 1136 drew a number of concerns during Wednesday's school board meeting. The bill would dissolve school districts in which the majority of the students living there don't attend the district's schools, and then turn those schools into charter schools.
Gary schools' chief of public and community relations, Chelsea Whittington, noted that the district saw a mass-exodus of students during the seven-year state takeover, but enrollment has increased since it returned to local control last year. The fall enrollment count showed a 214-student increase, and another 153 have enrolled since then.
"We are six months out of state takeover," Whittington noted. "The actions of the district are being taken to, again, recruit students back, and now this legislation seeks to stop us in our tracks, if you will."
Eight residents spoke against the proposed legislation during the public comment portion of the school board meeting.
Carolyn McCrady said it's ironic that the bill seeks to remove the option of traditional public schools, while the legislature promotes school choice. "We will be run again as in a takeover, by people who don't live here, by people that are doing this so they can make money and raid our treasury," McCrady said.
Bruce Curry with the NAACP Gary Branch said the organization may consider legal action if the bill advances. "This issue for me and the NAACP is an equity issue," Curry said.
Meanwhile, Tracy Coleman noted that one of the bill's co-authors, Representative Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton), is also an advisory member of the Distressed Unit Appeal Board, which oversaw the state takeover. "We have Representative Thompson sitting at the table, congratulating us, and at the same time, drafting legislation to put 700 employees of the Gary Community School Corporation in the unemployment line," Coleman said.
She also blamed the school board for not being more proactive in developing its own legislative agenda.
Board members said they're taking the issue seriously, and they're talking with members of other school boards around the state to plan a coordinated response. School leaders promised to continue sharing information with the community.
