INDIANAPOLIS — A bill recently passed by the Indiana Senate has school superintendents around the state watching closely.
The legislation in question, Senate Bill 425, would allow one northern Indiana township to “initiate a process to disannex from an existing school corporation and annex to another.”
The bill, which passed Feb. 4 by a 30-19 vote, has been moved to the House where it currently awaits approval.
The concern is that transferring a township (along with its student populace and tax revenue) between school districts could be duplicated statewide in the event the two-year pilot program established by the bill, if passed, is deemed successful.
“It’s all done, from my understanding, at the township trustee level,” Crawfordsville Superintendent Dr. Scott Bowling said at a recent public meeting. “That’s where the decision gets made without input from either school board, from the public or from anyone.”
Southmont Superintendent Dr. Shawn Greiner encouraged his teachers and administrators to thank Sen. Phil Boots for his “no” vote on the bill.
“When I reached out to him and thanked him, he sent an email back that said ‘I really took time with Dr. Robert Taylor (former president of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents) ... about how it could negatively impact school corporations. I learned a lot and realized I needed to vote no,’” Greiner said.
If passed, SB-425 would go into effect for the entire state, despite being an issue specific to the South Bend area.
“The concern from our associations is that this is going to be the pilot and it’s going to be rolled out statewide under the banner of ‘more school choice,’” Bowling said. “Even in this case, my understanding is that the receiving school district is not driving or looking or asking for this — it’s like, invaded.”
Boots represents Senate District 23 which encompasses all of Montgomery, Fountain, Warren, Vermillion and Parke counties. His ideals in voting against the bill have been mirrored by senators in adjacent districts, including Sen. J.D. Ford, Sen. John Crane and Sen. Ronnie Alting.
“There are, at a minimum, socio-economic undertones,” Bowling said. “You can see around Indianapolis-area schools, or any place where those sorts of (rural vs. suburban) issues collide, what a mess that might turn into.
“Usually, for a school district, you’re not going to turn down more territory because that’s more enrollment,” Bowling continued. “It wouldn’t really be a bad thing, but it’s created a really interesting situation across the state.”
The bill, originally introduced in 2018 for the same Greene Township-South Bend issue, died in the House April 24, 2019, after passing through the Senate. It can be read in its entirety at www.iga.in.gov/legislative/2020/bills/senate/425.
