Carlotta Blake-King

The School City of Hammond's bus transportation is on the chopping block, as district leaders look for ways to cut spending.

The new principal of Scott Middle School in Hammond is getting to work. Kerchell Hobson was officially appointed to the position by the school board Tuesday, but she actually took over November 13.

The Hammond School Board approved the district's 2024 budget Tuesday, but where to cut spending remains a topic of debate.

School City of Hammond is working to boost its STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education offerings. The school board last week approved a bid from 1st Maker Space to install makerspaces at Hammond Central and Morton high schools, as well as Eggers and Scott middle schools.

The Hammond School Board is urging school leadership to come up with ways to fix the district's financial problems. Chief Financial Officer Eric Kurtz told board members Tuesday that the school corporation's cash reserves dropped from roughly $13 million to just $3 million over the course of 2022.

Schedule changes and staff reassignments continued to cause frustration at Tuesday's Hammond School Board meeting.

For schools working to wrap up construction projects before the first day of class, material and labor shortages have created some extra challenges. In Hammond, Morton High School began the school year Wednesday with the gym floor, window replacement and science labs still incomplete.