Scott Allen, Herald Journal Reporter
Governor Mitch Daniels released his proposals for local government reform Friday, Dec. 19, based on the Kernan-Shepard Commission report released late in 2007.
"This is a set of changes that are long overdue in Indiana," said Daniels in a press release. "We are an outlier among the states. We have almost more of almost everything - taxing units, subdivisions and politicians - than elsewhere."
"More than we need, more than taxpayers can get good service for, and certainly more than we should be paying for," Daniels said.
He recommended the reorganization of non-countywide school districts with less than 1,000 students by combining district office operations with another school district. Also in his plan, Daniels wants to establish state standards and a county-based planning process similar to what was laid out in 1959 legislation.
Daniels' proposal was not to reduce the number of schools, but the number of school corporations in Indiana.
"Education experts agree that school districts of less than 1,000 students are not able to provide the education opportunities necessary for student success in the 21st century," Daniels said in the press release. "In Indiana, small corporations offer far fewer advanced placement courses, foreign languages and advanced math/science courses than corporations with more than 1,000 students."
In order to be implemented, the recommendations would have to be written into law by the Indiana General Assembly.
For White County, such a move would have the biggest impact on three of the four school corporations which have less than 1,000 students: Frontier, North White and Tri-County.
Dr. Gib Crimmins, Tri-County superintendent, had mixed reactions to the governor's recommendations.
"The facts don't support what they propose, but if they pass it, we will accept it," he said. "I don't know that the local people are willing to give all the power to the state of Indiana."
Local schools have already explored combining services by forming a White County School Collaboration/Consolidation Steering Committee, in which the four county schools, in conjunction with Wabash Valley Education Center, received a grant to explore the idea. Their initiative even earned the group a nod in the Kernan-Shepard report.
"We are in support of consolidating services; we do a whole lot more than people realize as far as working together with other schools," Crimmins explained.
TC board member Barry Haskins acts as spokesperson to the local steering committee, which studied demographic projections, student programs, facilities and personnel business functions and working together on such issues.
"We are looking in our steering committee in creating collaborative efforts that maximize the educational experience in students, and not just a way to save funds," Haskins explained. "Obviously that is important, but it cannot supersede the overall objective of all corporations, and that is we're in the business of taking care of kids."
Haskins feared that in combining corporation central offices, schools would lose a sense of individuality and that the expectations of students and parents could get lost in the shuffle.
"I don't think that Wolcott, Monon, Monticello and Chalmers are that far apart, but they do have different expectations, and I think one of the risks you run is to lose that identity," he said.
He pointed out that in reducing the number of superintendents in a county by combining central offices, the communities in which they serve would lose an important figure.
North White Board President Shannon Mattix felt the governor's recommendations had a lot of merit, considering the current state of the economy, but felt that many school corporations would not go for it without financial incentives to make further improvements.
"While I'm all for it, I have a feeling others need to see some financial incentive to it," he said.
Mattix felt that with combining central offices would come increased purchasing, White County schools could offer more to students.
"Whether that is utilizing more technology or offering different subjects that we can't now; I think it could also reward the veteran teachers with possibly a higher pay, and it could help us lure a first year teacher in who might not even consider White County," he said.