Teachers petition MCCSC for clear reduction-in-force policy amid budget strains
Nearly 500 teachers for the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) have signed a petition calling for the creation of a policy on reduction in force (RIF). That's according to Monroe County Education Association (MCEA) president Jenny Noble-Kuchera, who addressed the MCCSC board at Tuesday’s regular meeting.
The petition comes in the context of a two-year plan that has been put forward by MCCSC superintendent Markay Winston, which explicitly mentions reductions in staff numbers as part of a strategy to deal with financial strain. The strain is due in part to the effects of SB 1, which revises Indiana property tax law in a way that reduces revenues to all local government units, including school districts. According to the district, MCCSC’s budgeting challenge is also due in part to declining enrollment and rising payroll expenses.
The petition calls for use of the existing MCCSC bylaw 0135 which allows for discussion of issues subject to collective bargaining between an “exclusive representative” and the corporation, to create a new policy to spell out RIF procedures.
Noble-Kuchera also said that current discussion between the MCEA and MCCSC regarding criteria for transferring of employees within MCCSC “is effective, it’s productive, it is working.” She said, “We expect real success to this end.”
In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, the board held the first of two required preliminary hearings for a declaration of intent to reimburse expenditures. An MCCSC School Board of Trustees Resolution indicates MCCSC’s intention to renovate and improve facilities, “including site improvements and the purchase of buses, equipment, and technology.” The amount used will not exceed $5 million.
School board president April Hennessey told The B Square that this will have no impact on property tax rates. According to the published notice, the second hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29 at the MCCSC Co-Lab, 553 E Miller Dr.
Towards the start of the board's meeting, Aja Jester was sworn into office. She was selected by the board, after interviews with two other candidates on April 10, to fill the vacancy that was left when Brandon Shurr resigned the District 7 seat.
