The emergency manager for the Gary Community School Corp. will ask for another state loan Tuesday to keep the troubled district afloat.
The district's financial obligations exceed its revenue by $1.8 million each month. No amount was listed on Tuesday's agenda, but the district received $3.1 million at a September meeting of the Distressed Unit Appeal Board.
The DUAB-appointed emergency manager, Gary Schools Recovery LLC led by retired Indiana superintendent Peggy Hinckley, is expected to make regular loan requests until sometime next year as it attempts to stem spending.
The district lost more than $4 million in state tuition support when it reported a loss of about 500 students in the September state enrollment count. Hinckley hopes to shore up finances by building the enrollment back up by boosting academics and expanding courses at the Gary Area Career Center.
The DUAB will also consider a contract the district has initiated with a Merrillville accounting firm to reconcile a U.S. Internal Revenue Service debt of $8.4 million.
Gary has outstanding debts of more than $104 million. It owes the state more than $20 million in back loans.
The DUAB will also consider a collective bargaining agreement and the district's 2018 budget.
Legislation passed earlier this year placed the district under complete control of the emergency manager, relegating elected school board members powerless in academic and financial matters.
Meanwhile, Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt said Friday he plans to move ahead with an Open Door Law complaint filed by Gary resident Derrick A. Hill. He contends individual meetings Hinckley has held with school board members violates the serial meeting section of the law.
Hill has also filed a lawsuit against DUAB in Lake Superior Court to stop the meetings.
Britt said he will reach out to the DUAB for a response on the complaint. He said he expects to make a ruling within 40 calendar days.