S-D School Board Votes 5-2 To Close North Dearborn Elem.

Friday, November 21, 2014 at 6:28 AM

By Mike Perleberg and Amanda Harper, The Bright Beacon

(Logan Township, Ind.) - After 55 years in service housing thousands of students, North Dearborn Elementary will shut its doors for good next year. In a crowded by usual standards Thursday night meeting at East Central High School, the Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools Board of Trustees voted 5-2 to shut down the elementary school after this school year. Board members Joyce Huffman and John McKay cast the dissenting votes. McKay told The Bright Beacon after the meeting, “I thought we jumped the gun a little bit. I don’t see anything wrong with waiting another year for this decision.” The decision will impact grad configurations at each school in the district starting in 2015-2016. All of the kindergarten through 5th grade students at North Dearborn Elementary will be moved to what is currently North Dearborn Intermediate School, a few miles down the road. All of the district’s 6th graders will be located at Sunman-Dearborn Middle School starting next year. Bright and Sunman elementary schools will become kindergarten through grade 5. The middle school will be grades 6 and 7. Eighth grade middle schoolers will be split between the middle school and the adjacent high school. Interim superintendent Dr. John Williams estimated that it will cost $200,000 for renovations and moving expenses at the remaining schools. However, the district won’t have to put an expected $1.7 million in updates toward NDES in coming years. The move was necessary because the district is trying to cut costs as it deals with a steep decline in enrollment and funding. You can read more about that situation here. The parents and staff in attendance were urged to contact state lawmakers in an effort to get the state's school funding formula changed. During the meeting, some parents accused the board of having made its decision before listening to what they had to say. Parent Stefanie Hiltz presented a petition with 1,000 signatures collected over the past 12 days. While disappointed with the outcome, the parent of an NDES kindergartner said she believed the board made the best decision with what they currently have available. “As a community, we now have two choices: we can be angry and throw our hands up, or we can continue to move forward, seeking out the additional funding from the state through letter writing. My plan is to do the latter, and I am hopeful that others will join me,” Hiltz said. “It's an unfortunate situation that the district is in, but it is what it is. I hope to continue to promote awareness of the issue and to encourage families within our community to stay involved. Reaction from many parents on Facebook have included promises to pull their children from Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools. Hiltz hopes those parents stay put. “I strongly encourage parents to not make quick decisions to pull their kids out of the district, because we have amazing schools,” she said. RELATED STORIES: Parent Petitioning To Keep North Dearborn Elem. Open Facing Financial Woes, Sunman-Dearborn Could Close A School S-D Schools’ Enrollment Drops; 2015 Budget Request Up