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The September Monroe County Community School Corp. (MCCSC) board meeting saw the first general update on the Childs-Templeton elementary school merger, a breakdown of next year’s $187 million budget, and more. If you weren’t able to attend or don’t have time to watch the video, here’s five things to know about what happened.
Childs-Templeton merger discussion draws concern
MCCSC Interim Superintendent Markay Winston gave the first “general status update” on the upcoming Childs-Templeton elementary school merger, which is slated for the 2025-2026 school year.
Winston said Indianapolis-based architecture firm CSO already has completed a 3D model assessment of all rooms in the Childs and Templeton buildings and MCCSC employees have begun evaluating the safety of both neighborhoods for children walking to school.
Winston presented three considerations for grade level configurations that emerged from conversations with teachers, parents and community members:
- Consideration No. 1 has the first building serving grades Pre-K through second, while the second building serves third through sixth grades.
- Consideration No. 2 has the first building serving grades Pre-K through third, while the second building serves fourth through sixth grades.
- Consideration No. 3 has both buildings serving Pre-K through sixth grade, with the current boundary lines of Childs and Templeton being randomized to create “two schools with similar demographics.”
The third consideration drew concern from board members, with member Brandon Shurr worrying it was equivalent to redistricting and beyond the scope of what the board charged the administration with doing in April.
“I believe that the resolution was focused on a merger, not a redistricting,” Shurr said. “I’m not against it; I’m just not sure that fits here, and I worry we’re putting stuff in that the board hasn’t asked for.”
Board member Erin Wyatt said she appreciated Winston including it based on conversations with teachers.
“The whole reason for this merger was to balance [socioeconomic status],” Wyatt said. “I just want to say that I appreciate that you’re listening to stakeholders, because if this is a recommendation from the teachers, I appreciate that you are putting this in here.”
Winston said the comprehensive facilities assessment, expected next month, will help in determining grade configurations.
$187 million budget next year, no tax increase
At next month’s meeting, the board will vote to adopt an approximately $187 million budget for 2025, nearly $12 million more than the corporation’s $175 million budget this year.
Of the approximately $187 million budget, about $34 million comes from recent referendums, including the early childhood education referendum, which passed by a narrow margin last year.
While MCCSC’s budget is increasing, the local tax rate is actually expected to go down – though not by much. MCCSC’s financial advisor, Baker Tilly, reported the local tax rate is expected to go down by about “half a cent,” from $0.7344 in 2024 to $0.7294 next year.
Additional community forum on the Childs-Templeton merger in October
Winston shared updates on community engagement meetings the administration held since August, including a public forum on Sep. 12 with approximately 60 participants.
Based on these meetings, and around 40 responses online, the administration decided to hold one additional public community forum.
The forum will be Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Templeton Elementary and is open to the public. The next, and final, community forum will be Thursday, Nov. 7.
Sixth grade won’t be moving to middle school anytime soon
During last spring’s community forums on the Childs-Templeton merger and potential redistricting, community and board members discussed possibly moving sixth grade to middle schools within MCCSC. Neighboring school corporations, like Richland-Bean Blossom and Spencer-Owen Community Schools, serve grades 6-8 in their middle schools/junior high schools.
During the September meeting, Winston made clear that sixth grade moving to junior high is not a priority.
“There will be no recommendations coming forward from me and our school about sixth grade moving to middle school as part of this [merger] work, or probably anytime in the near future,” Winston said.
Treasurer now can adjust MCCSC’s budget throughout the year
Ahead of next month’s budget approval, the board approved a resolution to allow MCCSC’s treasurer to make “changes, adjustments or reductions” near the end of the budgetary year in the event the corporation overspends.
“This resolution will allow us to work with the Department of Local Government Finance to reduce our budgets towards the end of the year, if the need arises,” John Kenny, MCCSC’s chief financial officer, said.
The next MCCSC board meeting will be on Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. at the MCCSC Co-Lab on 533 E. Miller Drive.
Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com. Follow him on Twitter/X at @brianwritesnews.
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