Elwood school plan advises referendum, possible closing of building

ELWOOD — Consultants hired by Elwood Community Schools told the board on Thursday that it should consider asking local voters to increase school funding while at the same time suggesting that one school building might have to be closed to save money.

Representatives of Administrators Assistance presented the results of a months-long study of the school system to about 75 people at the board meeting. The consultants made recommendations on financial challenges facing the district and what the schools should be doing in the future.

“Nothing should be left off the table,” Mike Turner said after urging the board to consider a referendum to raise local tax revenue. He also said the schools should review transportation routes, create a rainy-day fund, ask teachers to pay more for benefits and develop a cost-saving task force.

Like other Indiana school districts, Elwood is feeling the pinch of budget cuts forced by a reduction in state tax support for schools in a poor economy.

Turner said the consultants’ work was done before the latest round of state education budget cuts, and that Elwood likely will have to lay off teachers and close schools.

“Reconfiguring the elementary schools might not be enough at this point in time,” Turner said. He said the board “probably should be looking at closing a school.”

The board has been working on cost-cutting measures in recent weeks to address a $2.5 million budget shortfall. Superintendent Tom Austin told the board that he will recommend one of six school reconfiguration plans, several of which involve closing either Edgewood or Oakland elementary or Elwood Middle School.

“It is truly a perfect storm,” Austin said of the schools’ financial condition, worsened by declining enrollment. A realignment of schools without closing one “might have been enough in December, but it’s not enough now,” he said.

Austin said he had discussed in a closed session with the board the steps that would be needed to pursue a school-funding referendum, but no specific plan has been offered.

Elwood administrators on Thursday presented illustrations of how the schools would house various grade levels under the six options proposed. Austin said those presentations will be available for patrons to review at the district office.

Consultant Tom McKaig said focus groups of stakeholders in the schools — teachers, students, graduates, community members and administrators — had yielded some interesting views about the schools. Among them:

-- Elwood schools lose about 20 percent of students between grade 8 and grade 10. “They’re not dropping out,” McKaig said, but “they are going somewhere.’

-- A greater focus should be placed on post-secondary education and career counseling.

-- There is a need for more challenging course work. McKaig said one focus group participant said, “We have too low of an expectation for students, and they are meeting it.”

-- The schools should be open to new ideas, including consolidation with other school corporations. McKaig said the consultants never raised the idea, but “every focus group brought up the word ‘consolidation.’”