MCCSC hears community feedback about former Herald-Times property

The former Herald-Times building was the topic of a community forum held on Thursday (Jan. 29) by the property’s current owner, Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC).

The forum was held in the Bloomington High School South auditorium, across Walnut Street from the former H-T building.

The district bought the property for just under $3 million in 2022. In November last year, the school board asked district administration to collect community feedback about the property’s use.

The community forum was one of two ways MCCSC has done that. The other is an online survey hat was released on Jan. 8. The survey closes at midnight on Friday (Jan. 30) night.

Superintendent Markay Winston told The B Square on Thursday (Jan. 29) that the survey had over 350 submissions so far.

At the forum, of the four people who spoke at the public mic, three suggested the district keep the building.

Background

The building is located at 1900 S. Walnut St., which is across the street from Bloomington High School South and near the MCCSC administration building. It was purchased during the tenure of former superintendent Jeff Hauswald. According to the district, the property is currently being used for material and equipment storage as well as bus parking.

At last year’s Nov. 18 school board meeting, assistant superintendent of human resources and operations Jeffry Henderson gave a presentation to the board about the property. He gave a similar presentation at the start of the public forum on Thursday.

To the board, Henderson said, “There was no written, formal plan for this administration to reference when we began our tenure.” He was referring to Winston’s superintendency, which began when she became interim superintendent the summer before the 2024-25 school year.

However, Henderson continued, the previous superintendent’s considerations “could be categorized within ‘operational efficiencies’ and ‘services.’” Operational efficiencies could include large group training space, material or equipment storage, bus parking, office space, or relocation of MCCSC departments. Services could include a board room, welcome center, health clinic, public meeting space, or support services.

According to the presentation, the eight-acre site has just six usable acres due to approximately two acres of floodplain, as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The building has more than 77,000 square feet, and in its current configuration, the property has more than 170 parking spaces. Henderson said the building includes office space, storage, loading docks, and large span areas, which are large, open spaces without columns.

Then-board president April Hennessey said, “The cost of maintaining the building as it is, in this very moment, is not extraordinarily high, though we know that there are probably some things that need to happen,” such as repairs to the roof and updates to the HVAC system.

The property had an assessed value of about $1.4 million in 2025. It is zoned for commercial use.

School board discussion

Board members discussed the property briefly after the last November’s presentation.

Ashley Pirani said she was concerned about the environmental impacts of the property, with its history of printing newspapers. More than one board member commented that the property’s current use as a storage facility needs to be considered when making a decision.

Erin Cooperman said that her biggest question was about public perception. “That’s something that I know that we have gotten some negative feedback about from the public,” she said, “and we do have to pass a referendum in either 2026 or 2028.” She said she’s worried about how the public will perceive a decision “if we end up doing a big renovation or even just keeping the property.”

Hennessey also mentioned that the roughly $3 million spent on the property “seems like a lot of dollars, but in the scope of our budget, $3 million, while it is a lot of money,” she said, it’s a fraction of the district’s expenses even during a two-week payroll period.

Community forum presentation: Three paths forward

During his presentation at the public forum on Thursday (Jan. 29), Henderson said the board has three options for the disposition of the building: sell it, postpone action, or renovate it.

Indiana state law requires that money derived from the sale or exchange of property be placed in the district’s operations fund. That would bring cash to the district, but it can’t be used to pay for teacher salaries or benefits. Teacher compensation has to be paid out of the education fund.

According to MCCSC’s slide deck, to sell property, the district must hold a public hearing, the school board must approve the sale, two appraisers must appraise it, then the board can sell the property at a public auction or using a real estate broker. The slide deck also said the property must be sold for at least the purchasing price.

Postponing action on the former H-T building would mean continued use of the building for storage and the lot for bus parking. However, MCCSC said roof repairs would be required.

A renovation project would allow the district to use the building for purposes such as a welcome center, offices, or a board room. The slide deck included renderings from CSO Architects for those three concepts.

Community forum: Four public comments

The community forum on Thursday evening drew an audience of about a dozen people. Four people spoke at the microphones placed in the front of the auditorium.

School board president Erin Cooperman and board member April Hennessey were present.

Also in attendance were MCCSC administrators: assistant superintendent of human resources and operations Jeffry Henderson, who presented and moderated the event, superintendent Markay Winston, assistant superintendent of curriculum Alexis Harmon, chief financial officer Matt Irwin, communications director Sarah DeWeese, technology director Andy Koop, and director of early learning and enrollment Tim Dowling.

Henderson said that an audio recording was being made of the event, and it would be automatically transcribed to text.

The first commenter, Chris Sapp, is a father of an MCCSC student. He said he was going to suggest the board sell the property in order to help pay for teacher and staff salaries, but he learned from Henderson’s presentation that money from the sale can’t be used in that way. He expressed frustration that the corporation was holding onto the property but was not able to increase teacher pay.

Pam Bessler had two children graduate from Bloomington South, and has volunteered for MCCSC in various roles. She said she’s been dreaming for a while of a “community STEM center” that she can see taking up just part of the building. “I think many community entities could come together and make it happen,” she said, listing the city of Bloomington, Indiana University, the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, and other local businesses and organizations. She said she believes MCCSC’s responsibility would just be to provide the space and utilities, and “everything else could be paid for by other people.”

Jacqueline Adams, a student at Indiana University who is student-teaching at Summit Elementary School, said that in her experience with students, she thinks families don’t always know where to look for materials, and believes a welcome center would be useful. She said that would allow families to “have easier access for students who are coming in, and it also creates that welcoming environment.” She also said the property could be used for both indoor and outdoor events.

The last commenter, Sara Laughlin, former Monroe County Public Library director, and former Bloomington High School North parent, said, “I think it would be a shame to sell the building. Even though funding is tight in this community, these ideas that people have expressed ... are big and optimistic for our kids and for the future.” She said the district shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to find a use for the space.

Laughlin’s comment ended just after 6:30 p.m., half an hour into the event. MCCSC administrators and board members stayed in the auditorium until around 7 p.m., half an hour before the scheduled 7:30 p.m. end.

Survey results and feedback are supposed to be presented to the school board in February.

Photos: Jan. 29 MCCSC community forum on former Herald-Times building

Photos: Former Herald-Times building on Jan. 28, 2026