Board members of the MCCSC intend to resolve outstanding tasks in the upcoming term

Bloomington, Indiana – It was easy to win the four uncontested races for the Board of Trustees position of Monroe County Community School Corporation. Board members are now faced with the task of finishing the last year of their five-year strategic plan.

With 24,991 votes, April Hennessey was reelected to the District 2 board. With 23,699 votes, District 5 board member Erin Cooperman was reelected. With 23,340 votes, Ross Grimes was reelected to the District 6 seat. The District 4 seat, which incumbent Cathy Fuentes-Rowher decided to leave at the end of her current term, was won by Tiana Williams Iruoje with 23,474 votes. These elected officials will join the board together with three other members.

The board will decide whether to integrate the schools this year, appoint a permanent superintendent, and adopt a new strategic plan. January 1 marks the start of the new term for the school board seats in Districts 2, 4, 5, and 6.

The elected school board members expressed their relief at the lack of competition in the district-specific elections. However, they said that the lack of community participation in the school board election worried them. According to Hennessey, it is the board’s responsibility to include the county’s residents, inspire them to run, and foster a sense of dedication to the district that goes beyond a single problem.

Hennessey stated, “I believe we’ve usually had someone opposed in their seat in the past.” “And that does concern me because, while it is heavy and requires a lot of work, it is also very important work.”

Only two candidates failed to face opposition in the last five MCCSC school board elections. In 2016 and 2020, Keith Klein emerged victorious in the uncontested District 5 seat. In 2018 and 2022, Brandon Shurr was elected to the uncontested District 7 seat. This year, there was no competition for any of the reelection positions.

According to board members, the time commitment and seemingly never-ending conflict of the position may have discouraged people from seeking for school board seats.

Cooperman and Grimes claim that a board member’s job might take up to 20 hours each week. They have to stay in touch with people and educate themselves in front of a vote outside of monthly board sessions. Additionally, members attend community activities on behalf of the board.

It also takes more time to be an officer on the board. The board elects or appoints the president, vice president, and secretary. In addition to their regular duties, they hold monthly meetings with the superintendent.

In addition to receiving $2,000 annually for their services, MCCSC board members also earn a per diem of $112 for each regular meeting they attend and $62 for each extra meeting. Salary may be the reason why others aren’t running, according to Hennessey. Cooperman stated that despite the commitment to time and money, she still anticipated that individuals would run against them.
Cooperman stated, “We had done some sort of controversial things in the past three years, which is part of the reason that was surprising.” Therefore, we anticipated that those who disapproved of our strategy would turn against us. It didn’t work out.

According to Grimes, the Bloomington High School North and Bloomington High School South schedule alignment proposal in October 2023 was the first obstacle following the COVID-19 epidemic.

The events leading up to the schedule change started on September 22, 2023, when an article in The Optimist, BHSS’ student-run newspaper, confirmed that the district was thinking about making timetable adjustments for the schools. Then-Superintendent Jeff Hauswald stated in the article that timetables could alter and that South would drop its trimester schedule in favor of a semester schedule under the hypothetical proposal.

Then, on September 25, 2023, Matthew Stark, the principal of BHSN, wrote to families to inform them that the district had started an investigation that would lead to a change in the school year calendar for 2024–2025.

In order to address concerns about equity within the school district, the district sought to match the timetables of high schools. According to 61.5% of students who participated in a poll about their experiences, 38% of Bloomington North students felt that their lessons were too long. Students who received free or reduced lunches were more likely to agree.
The public was given a 45-minute opportunity to comment on the proposal during the following day’s school board meeting at MCCSC. Nine of the 17 speakers questioned the validity of the information supporting the scheduling adjustment. Since students at North can take elective courses concurrently, six respondents claimed that the change would reduce the number of elective course possibilities at BHSN. One of the speakers created an online petition that, at the time, had 900 signatures and listed six issues that were directed to the MCCSC school board members.

The petition’s signatories claimed, among other things, that the school board hurried the transition and lacked transparency in the process.

Families, kids, and community members received focus group sign-up sheets from the district the following week. Although there was no formal timetable at the time, Hauswald then stated in an email on October 20, 2023, that the district would implement a schedule modification to harmonize daily procedures at both high schools. Grimes said this was a frequent misperception.
Grimes stated, “There was never a formal proposal that everyone could have something concrete to get mad at.”

Three days later, in response to the request for a change in the high school timetable, some 250 demonstrators assembled at the Monroe County Courthouse Square for what they dubbed the “#OptionsAreEquity community rally.” Signs bearing the phrases “collaborate don’t dictate” and “Hauswald, you need to listen” were carried by protesters.

Four days later, 45 members of the public voiced their opinions about the timetable change at a school board meeting, and a motion to make high school scheduling a board vote issue was approved. Hennessey’s proposal transferred accountability from the district board members to the school administration. In addition to recommending advisory panels, teacher union consultation, and open data gathering and presentation, it postponed the schedule adjustment.

The High School Scheduling Citizen Advisory Committee, which consists of one student, six parents, and seven MCCSC employees, published its final report on July 24. Due to scheduling disparities, it discovered equity problems in the high schools, including variations in the weight of courses and the total number of elective credits that students may earn over the course of four years.

According to the report, there is currently no strong evidence to justify a timetable change, and the majority of the committee does not support altering the high school schedules, even though equity concerns must be addressed.

According to Grimes, the plan to match the high school calendar has not been discussed by the board since this report, and the subject has lost steam.

According to Grimes, “both the South and North students adore their schedules.” “I don’t see that happening this term or the near future. It simply doesn’t appear to be a top priority, which can affect the superintendent.

On March 6, 2024, Hauswald’s $228,926 contract buyout was completed during a 48-second special meeting. Markay Winston, who had been with MCCSC since 2017 as assistant superintendent and deputy superintendent, was chosen by the board to succeed him on April 23. Winston’s term as interim superintendent expires on June 30, 2025, after a year. Prior to that, the board needs to determine whether to start an open search for a new superintendent or ask Winston to remain as permanent superintendent. Winston might be one of the candidates if it decides to search.

Although Grimes stated that he was unable to publicly discuss Winston’s future due to the fact that it is currently a personnel matter, he thinks Winston did a great job of communicating with the community and the district.

Iruoje, a parent, stated that she thought Winston should have been employed in 2021 because of her exceptional relationships with educators, students, and community members.

The board might adopt a resolution committing to the Childs-Templeton merger next term. It must complete a schedule prior to the 2025 spring semester if it intends to carry out the merger by the 2025–2026 academic year.

Students from both schools were to attend Childs Elementary for pre-K through second grade and Templeton Elementary for third through sixth grade, according to the original merger plan. According to the merger resolution, the board selected Childs and Templeton because, despite their close proximity, the schools’ resources differ greatly. According to state data, 72.21% of Templeton students are eligible for free or reduced lunches, whereas just 8.92% of Childs kids are. This statistic is used by the district to assess the socioeconomic standing of a school’s student body.

Hennessey stated that the attendance zone redistricting research that resulted from the merger conversation might offer an alternative approach to addressing the socioeconomic disparity among the schools. At their upcoming board meeting on November 19, Winston will provide an update on the redistricting study.

Every five years, a strategic plan is also approved by the MCCSC Board of School Trustees. The four priorities of the 2021–2025 strategy plan were communication, diversity, equity, and funding. The board stated that following the 2024 election, it will start a new plan.
According to each candidate, the strategy plan for 2026–2030 has not yet been discussed.
Hennessey stated that she will look into disciplinary inequalities, attendance rates, accessibility, and collaboration between Bloomington, Monroe County, and MCCSC when creating a new strategic plan. The new term starts on January 1, 2025, and the board will meet again on November 19.