Gary Community School Corporation balances budget with a $2 million surplus

Contributed By:The 411 News

State managers of the Gary Community School Corporation and Indiana's Distressed Unit Appeal Board met in public Monday in Indianapolis, breaking the silence since its last meeting 3 months ago to report the district’s financial ship had been righted and steps would be coming to return the district to local control.

Instead of monthly meetings reporting on the status of Gary schools, news came in late January of a proposal from House Republicans that alarmed northwest Indiana Democratic legislators and Gary residents. If the bill had passed, Gary would have a state appointed school board for the next 4 years and the current district manager would be the interim school superintendent during the 1st year while the board searched for a new school superintendent.

If the bill had passed, the district would not be allowed to enter into agreements with the Gary Teachers Union.

Democratic legislators and many residents saw the proposal as pushing the needle beyond the 2017 state takeover legislation declaring state control would end when the school district maintained a balanced budget for 2 consecutive years.

At Monday's meeting, Eric Parish, Executive Vice President of MGT, the educational management organization charged with the district’s day-to-day operations and managing the district out of the deficit, said the school corporation had a $2 million surplus at the end of 2021.

GCSC’s deficit stood at $21.5 million when the state appointed MGT as the external manager in summer 2017.

“Achieving a balanced budget is a landmark occasion, especially after GCSC ran a deficit of more than $20 million,” said Parish. “This accomplishment is due to many difficult decisions made by the State of Indiana, the MGT team, and district administrators, as well as the Gary community’s overwhelming backing of the 2020 referendum.”

The district is also projected to keep a balanced budget for 2022.

Only scant mention of the failed House legislation was made at Monday's DUAB meeting. "While the DUAB can release the Gary schools from distressed status, there is no governing body to hand the district back to," said DUAB Chairman Justin McAdam. "The Indiana legislature has the obligation to decide at some point what the future of the Gary schools will look like. That conversation has yet to be completed and will be continued in the next year."

Reports of conversations between northwest Indiana Democratic legislators representing Gary and the DUAB focus on the formation of the governing body. Gary's representatives want a locally controlled school board that will then select a superintendent.

That is not the only concern for the local effort. Still being discussed is whether a new school board will be elected or appointed.

And the state will have to decide what’s next for MGT since that contract ends June 30.


GCSC erased $21.5 million deficit in under 5 years

Story Posted:03/31/2022