New Hammond school board member Carlotta Blake-King, 2nd left, chats with friends

Declining enrollment jolts Hammond school district

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A loss of 500-plus students when the 2018 school year started, forecasts of future enrollment declines, and with a new high school under construction, reassessment is now at the forefront for the School City of Hammond, Lake County’s largest public school system.

The drop in enrollment is a major alarm for a district that has averaged a 13,000 student population over the last 5 years. During that time, Hammond initiated an open enrollment policy drawing families fleeing East Chicago’s crisis of lead contaminated soil and water. It has also welcomed families from Gary fleeing a failing school district.

The school district’s current enrollment of 12,519, down from 13,055 in 2017-18 spurred the school board to hire an outside auditor to analyze the district’s fund balances and cash flows. The auditor, MTW Consulting reported the district’s finances were in order and indicated losses for the upcoming years because of declining enrollment and changes in the state’s school funding formulas.

On the school administration side, Superintendent Dr. Walter Watkins hired a consultant to form a study committee to find ways to reduce the district’s costs. Composed of district administrators, schools staff, and community residents, the study committee was formed in September and presented its report at the December 11th school board meeting.

The school district has 19 schools. The committee report included closing several elementary schools and reducing the number of high schools from four to 2. The new high school under construction and Morton are on the keep list, leaving Gavitt and Clark on the cut list. The latter schools are combined middle and high schools; the middle school grades would remain.

At that Dec. 11th school board meeting, Dr. James Halik of Compass Keynote, facilitator of the study committee told the board they were on the right path, “You’re at the right time to fix a problem of declining enrollment.”

Angry Hammond residents spoke up at the January 9th school board meeting, rejecting the actions of the board and administration. Angry about promises made when the district asked for approval of the 2017 referendum to raise property taxes for schools. They were angry at the district’s leadership.

Bill Lewter told the board, “You promised Gavitt wouldn’t be touched when families, alumni, and businesses were asked to help get the referendum passed. We discovered the board didn’t know what would happen to the money and didn’t know how bad the situation was. Gavitt is the best performing academic high school and should be used as a blueprint. Enrollment drops and changing state formulas are nothing new. The board has done nothing to adapt to the changing times.”

“Dr. Watkins rendered his letter of intent to retire as far back as 2016,” Joan Culver said. “The board has been incapable of finding a replacement. This inaction cripples us from moving forward with new ideas. Your basic function is to hire a superintendent. I’m not interested in hearing trustees concerns about buildings and consolidations. I want to hear from a qualified person on the topics of education and functioning of this school district. I want to hear from the person who will lead our district into the future. Do your job; we deserve better.”

Amy Radolak told the board, “When we approved that referendum you promised us a new superintendent. Dr. Watkins is still here. And you’ve scheduled a meeting for tomorrow, at 3:30, to extend his contract. That date wasn’t on the school city calendar. Why isn’t his contract up on the website for us to view? You made the time when we’re all picking up our kids from school. How can we get here for public expression?”

Mary Ellen Slazyk said, “Hammond schools are in trouble; more for the education than the buildings. New schools are not the solution we need. Build all the pretty new schools you want; you gotta fix what’s inside.” Slazyk pointed to Hammond High’s 2018 Spring IStep score, with only 7 students passing both Math and English Language Arts sections out of the 190 students taking the tests.

Ken Davidson added, “Even Gary, East Chicago and Muncie did better than Hammond High.”

Paul Buck urged the board to let Dr. Watkins retire. “This man has been trying to resign 3 or four times. We had qualified superintendents looking for the job. The board is not looking for that; they’re looking for a puppet.”

Cindy Murphy, a former school board member spoke to defend Hammond High. Even though its IStep score was low, the school earned a B grade on the state’s school report card. “People don’t understand about growth. Those teachers worked with students who were 2-3 years behind. In order to get that B, they had to take their students through years of work. Growth needs to be the new buzzword.” She asked the board to stop the public’s misinformation and trashing of teachers and Hammond High. “Hold a public session about growth.”

Dr. Watkins spoke at the end of the meeting. “The study committee’s recommendations were suggestions only. In phase 2, we’ll start sitting down with those groups and others. We are heading in the direction of 2 high schools, but we are nowhere near that.” And he welcomed volunteers to join the study committee.

“I’ll definitely volunteer,” Lewter said.


Tina Dent, (l-r) new Hammond school board member Carlotta Blake-King, Linda Randolph, and Sharon Liggins at January 9th Hammond school board meeting

Story Posted:01/16/2019