In Vigo County, an oversight board created through state legislation is studying how the county might be able to assist the Vigo County School Corp. with its facilities plan.
The school district’s endorsed plan seeks to consolidate and reorganize the district from 23 buildings to 16, with 10 elementary schools, four middle schools and two high schools.
The Vigo County School Corp.’s goal is to build a new high school and renovate another high school without raising property taxes, and it is asking the county for financial assistance.
The oversight board’s recommendation will be advisory, with a final decision to be made by the Vigo County Council as to whether it wants to fund a project and has the resources to do so.
The oversight board’s recommendations are expected in mid-July.
Meanwhile, the Terre Haute Casino Resort Foundation has pledged up to $100 million toward a new high school.
The Vigo County Oversight Board has been described as a pilot program, and officials statewide are eager to see how the process plays out — and whether it may pave the way for other school districts to have similar partnerships.
Among the issues the oversight board is expected to look at include interlocal agreements and how that might work.
State Sen. Greg Goode, R-Terre Haute, authored the legislation that made the oversight board possible.
“There was a lot of interest in the General Assembly for what we were trying to accomplish in Vigo County — particularly using existing unencumbered funds available to county government that could be used for school facilities. We definitely caught the attention of other legislators representing areas with similar school facility challenges.”
Goode added, “I have long felt like our county is helping the state test a concept — collaboration between our county government and school corporation to address facilities without raising property taxes.”
He said the key is “for various improvement options to be fully explored and vetted in a transparent way. I believe we have that with this oversight board.”
The oversight board is made up of two commissioners’ appointees, one county council appointee, one Terre Haute mayoral appointee and the VCSC board president.
Recently, the city of Fishers northeast of Indianapolis entered into an interlocal agreement with the Hamilton Southeastern School Board related to athletic facilities.
Fishers, a growing, affluent community, will invest about $3.6 million in improvements to athletic fields at Fishers High School and Hamilton Southeastern High School to benefit student-athletes, youth sports organizations, and the broader Fishers community, according to the city’s website.
The median household income in Fishers is $130,203, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The interlocal agreement also created a new administration-level position at Hamilton Southeastern Schools to implement a citywide strategy and manage all athletic fields, the website said.
The city and district athletic director position “will strengthen coordination between the city, the school district, and local sports organizations while helping maximize the use of athletic facilities throughout the community,” according to the city’s website.
Jim Self, who has been athletic director at Hamilton Southeastern High School for 26 years, will begin his new responsibilities in a few weeks. He’ll continue to be a school district employee; his salary will be paid by the city to the school district.
“I wasn’t looking for a new job. I loved the one that I’m in,” Self said in an interview this week. But he’s excited about the new opportunities.
“The mayor and superintendent put their heads together and really started looking at — OK, what is best for the city, and how can that benefit the schools?” Self said.
The interlocal agreement is part of an ongoing partnership between the city and school district, he said. “This was a way to enhance that a little bit farther and take it the next step.”
One of his responsibilities is to identify areas that can be improved for both school use and youth athletics.
He said he will oversee both high schools — Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers — as well as four junior highs. In addition, “I will support and serve our youth athletic program,” called MudSock Youth Athletics, which is both recreational and travel.
The school district has more than 21,000 students. Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers high schools each have more than 3,500 students.
According to the city’s website, the interlocal agreement calls for the following athletic improvements:
• For Fishers High School, one new artificial turf field with lighting; upgrades to four existing natural grass fields; and construction of a pedestrian crosswalk connecting Sand Creek Intermediate School to Fishers High School.
• For Hamilton Southeastern High School, it means one new artificial turf field with lighting and upgrades to existing plateau fields, which are grass fields used for high school soccer, travel and youth soccer.
The improvements are designed to support increased participation, improved field conditions, and expanded opportunities for competitions and tournaments.
“Sports are part of the fabric of our community,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness on the city’s website. “This investment builds upon our longstanding collaboration with HSE Schools and ensures our facilities can keep up with the incredible growth and participation we’re seeing in youth sports.”
More agreements in the future?
Interlocal agreements involving local government and school districts don’t appear to be common in Indiana, although that could change as many districts deal with declining enrollments and funding challenges.
Scott Bowling, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, said he anticipates interlocal agreements could happen more often in the future.
In communities such as Fishers, where there is so much youth sports activity and club sports, “I could definitely see where schools would find it advantageous to partner with club sports organizations to have joint use of facilities.”
He doesn’t believe that currently there are a lot of such interlocal agreements, but he could see more in the future.
One area he sees potential relates to swimming/aquatic facilities. “They are terribly expensive,” he said.
Bowling, the former superintendent of Crawfordsville Community School Corp., said that district had a swimming facility, as did nearby school districts. Wabash College in Crawfordsville also has one.
Looking back, Bowling said it would have made sense for the school districts to perhaps build one facility that served all of them.
Bowling sees potential for more creative partnerships in the future. Vigo County “is on the cutting edge of looking at this,” he said.
IASBO and public school districts don’t support decreasing the property tax base school corporations require to meet the needs of their students, he said.
But given some of the changes and new realities, “I definitely think with what has happened to our property tax system, schools are going to have to think creatively like that, and hopefully local units of government will be willing partners for those discussions,” Bowling said.