Superintendent says Muncie schools are more than just its financial crisis

“We hear a lot about all the drama,” Baule said during his third annual “State of the School” address at the Horizon Convention Center. “But when you go into our buildings and see what is going on, there is a lot of really good stuff going on in our classrooms. I think that’s really important to know.”

He set the stage for his positive, hour-long talk, however, by reporting on the big picture, which included brief remarks about school funding, poverty and minorities.

“Unfortunately, we (Indiana) rank 49th per student in funding,” he told civic and business leaders. “So we talk about school funding, that’s not just an issue with Muncie Community Schools; that’s an issue across the state. We are 49 out of 51.”

Illinois, Michigan and Kentucky all rank in the top 20 nationally in terms of school funding per pupil. Ohio is 30th.

Baule noted that three-fourths of the student body of nearly 5,200 students at MCS come from low-income households, based on free- and reduced-price school lunch guidelines. More than 20 percent are black. More than 20 percent are special education students.