Seven individuals were chosen to serve on the Muncie School Board during a Board of Trustees meeting Monday.
The search for a new school board began after the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to assume responsibility of Muncie Community Schools (MCS) in accordance with House Bill 1315.
RELATED: Ball State Board of Trustees votes to assume responsibility of MCS
A total of 88 candidates applied to be considered by Ball State, and of those candidates 16 were chosen by the university to participate in a public forum. Also at the forum were the candidates chosen by Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler and the Muncie City Council.
“[The forum consisted of] 20 people who were passionate and articulate,” President Geoffrey Mearns said during the meeting. “It made this selection that I’m going to present to you today very difficult but that’s not a burden, I consider that a blessing.”
RELATED: Muncie School Board finalists speak at open forum
Mearns was the first to announce his two choices for the school board based off three recommendations from Tyler — Brittany Bales — and three recommendations from Muncie City Council — WaTasha Barnes Griffin.
Both Bales, an instructor of special education at Ball State, and Griffin, the executive director of the Muncie YWCA, graduated from Muncie Community Schools, have children currently attending MCS and will serve a four-year term on the new MCS school board.
Mearns also suggested five candidates to be considered by the Board of Trustees: Mark Ervin, Dave Heeter, James Lowe, Keith O’Neal and James Williams. All five were approved and will serve staggered terms.
Lowe, an MCS graduate and current associate vice president for facilities planning and management at Ball State, will serve one year. Ervin, a lawyer from Selma, is a MCS and BSU graduate and will serve two years. Heeter, a CEO at Mutual Bank, is a MCS and BSU graduate and will serve three years.
O’Neal, lead pastor of destiny christian church and vice president of the Collective Coalition of Concerned Clergy, and Williams, a former state court judge, will serve four years. O’Neal and his children both attended MCS.
“This is what we were seeking all along, a group of diverse people, outstanding, talented people, complementary skills that reflect the diverse perspectives of Muncie, and I’m so pleased that these seven individuals … are willing to serve us,” Mearns said.
The new school board will attend orientation in July where they will be provided with information and materials to help them learn their responsibilities.
“[We’re going to] find out what’s being done really well, find out what isn’t being done very well, look at the financial situation, where it’s at and then determinations to what, perhaps, should be done differently,” Williams said.
- In addition to appointing new members, the Board of Trustees also approved several other budgeting and building items: A new department, Early Childhood Youth and Family Studies, is being created within the Teachers College
- Tuition will be increased 1.25 percent for the 2018-19 school year
- A 2 percent increase in the salary funding pool for faculty and professional employees
- The budget and scope of a new residence hall, which will cost $60 million and serve as a new living-learning community for students in the Teachers College
- The budget and scope of the $87.5 million Foundational Sciences Building
Contact Brooke Kemp with comments at bmkemp@bsu.edu or on Twitter @brookemkemp.
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