Muncie, Indiana Blog – Muncie Schools have officially been taken over by the state effective in two weeks. As most of you living in Delaware County have heard, “The Distressed Unit Appeal Board (“DUAB”) designated Muncie Community Schools as a distressed political subdivision pursuant to Indiana Code 6-1.1-20.3-7.1. This means that effective January 1st, 2018, […]
By: Todd Smekens BLOG – Several months ago, the credit grading services of Standard &Poors (S&P) downgraded the school systems credit rating by four notches. That’s not good news. This comes on the heels of losing nearly $5 million in revenue as a result of declining enrollment. The primary reasons for the downgrade are: The […]
By: Todd Smekens BLOG – Because of changes to the state’s accountability formula, many schools saw substantial improvement last year across Indiana. Officials aren’t quick to pat themselves on the back. They’ve said because of using a component for “growth in ISTEP scores,” even a slight improvement would cause substantial growth for the school grade. […]
By: Todd Smekens State Declares MCS, “Fiscally Impaired” Muncie, IN BLOG – The latest saga with Muncie Community Schools (MCS) unfolds as SB-567 was passed by both houses and moves toward the governor’s desk for his signature. In a nutshell, MCS district has been taken away from locally elected board members, replacing them with a […]
By: Todd Smekens Muncie, Indiana NEWS – To summarize the week, the board meeting on April 11th was supposed to send a clear message to state lawmakers, but the board failed to send a proactive message. If anything, the inability to pull the trigger sent the message that MCS isn’t capable of making tough decisions. […]