How far will Muncie Community Schools fact finder go?

School board President Debbie Feick thinks the order could do more than just pick which side's "last best offer" will be the binding contract.

"The primary goal is to resolve the contract," Feick said, but she suspects the order could also contain "some advice in terms of next steps" to help achieve a "kind of holistic outcome."

MCS already has decided to petition the state's Distressed Unit Appeal Board (DUAB) for a loan, which gives that board "more clout" to make recommendations for further debt reduction, said Feick, a former special education teacher, elementary school principal and assistant superintendent.

A combination of action by the DUAB and the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board, the state agency that appointed the fact finder, could also "give us some specific recommendations," Feick told The Star Press. For example, the two entities could advise MCS to file a petition seeking designation as a "distressed political subdivision," on grounds that the debt is too great a hardship on school personnel, she said.