Cost cutting strategies and school closings were on center stage at last night's Muncie Community Schools Board of Trustees meeting.
The board approved $1.6 million in budget cuts and talked extensively about plans that will likely result in the closing of one of its high schools.
"We need to take into consideration limiting opportunities," Muncie resident Ernest Maxwell said while addressing a Muncie School Board that is now being faced with many difficult decisions regarding budget cuts that will undoubtedly affect all of Muncie Community Schools.
In October 2009, the MCS Board of Trustees appointed a group of business representatives, community leaders, parents and teachers called the Blue Ribbon Task Force to help outline areas of concern and propose solutions to the school systems' capacity and budget issues.
Many of the issues outlined by the task force involved revenue shortfalls and the district's loss of enrollment, which has resulted in facilities being under utilized. MCS has seen an enrollment decline of approximately 2,600 students since 1988. Both issues were met with recommendations of consolidation.
Two consolidation options were put forth. One would close a middle school and eighth grade would be added to the high schools. The other would combine Muncie Central and Muncie Southside high schools into one.
The other building would be sold, leased or repurposed as a potential revenue-producing source.
Additionally, with budget cuts at the federal, state and local levels, schools in Muncie are having a difficult time finding funding for many of its extracurricular programs.
One of the issues brought into question by Maria French, a member of the Superintendents' Parent Advisory Council, was the total elimination of certain sports such as middle school track and high school gymnastics when other sports will see no cuts at all.
Ideas brainstormed by the SPAC to help lower costs for sports across the athletic spectrum include: asking students to help pay for part or all of their uniforms, arranging car pools to and from sporting events instead of using school busses and merging the Central and Southside gymnastics programs into a single program with a single coach.
French also talked about possible partnerships with Ball State.
"Maybe exploring internships for education or exercise science students seeking real-life experience would be a good way for the MCS to find coaches for some of the sports currently lacking funding," French said. "Extracurriculars play a huge role in providing students with a complete education."
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