Published: October 13, 2009 06:52 pm      

Middlebury school officials join lawsuit against state

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury school officials are not happy with state government. Now lawyers are involved.

At its Tuesday meeting, the Middlebury school board voted 5-0 to join Hamilton Southeastern School Corp. in a lawsuit to challenge the state formula for funding school corporations.

“We have talked this problem to death with no positive results,” school Superintendent Jim Conner said, later adding that it doesn’t appear the problem will be solved by the Legislature.

“So our only recourse available is to start cutting staff and activities or be aggressive and become involved in this lawsuit,” he told the school board.

According to Conner, for years state payments per student to the Middlebury school corporation have been among the lowest in Indiana. He said that 333 of the 344 public school corporations or charter schools in the state receive more than Middlebury Community Schools.

“The state budget for 2010 shows we remain among the lowest in the state when it comes to tax support for our students,” he said.

School corporations receive General Fund monies through a formula that allows some corporations to receive up to twice as much per student in state support, Conner said.

“When other school corporations receive substantially larger sums of money per student to educate their students, we are placed at a significant disadvantage,” he said.

How much is MCS being shorted, in Conner’s view? The math includes what’s known as average daily membership (ADM). ADM is more complicated than a head count — for example, a kindergartner counts as half a pupil.

Conner said that state funding per MCS student for 2009 is $5,098.77, with the state average being $5,764. Multiply the difference per student — $665.23 — by the school corporation’s latest ADM count — 4,112 — “and the amount we are shortchanged compared to the average Indiana school corporation is $2,735,425.70,” Conner said. And state tuition support will drop even lower to $5,089.66 per student in 2010, he added.

Hamilton Southeastern school officials have retained the Chicago law firm of Franszek Radelet to represent them. Hamilton Southeastern is in the Fishers area, and officials there are facing the potential of cutting 60 teaching positions and all extra-curricular activities.

After the meeting, Conner said MCS’ legal fees will be a maximum $30,000 over three years.

In other matters, the school board:

• Approved authorizing Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department officers to issue traffic tickets on school property.

The goal is to have a safer environment. Conner said MCS has several private roads and parking lots. He also said drivers have been clocked traveling more than 45 mph on school property during school hours.

• Heard from business director Shirley Meyer, who reported that MCS’ official ADM count of 4,112.35 was up 25.99 students over last year. “We feel fortunate to have a positive count,” she said.