Posts in this topic

[Southsider2k12]

For those who don't know last night, a new one year teachers contract was ratified by the MCAS Board of Trustees. This included about a 1.5% pay CUT for all teachers in MC based on some cuts in the amount of time required to work outside of the classroom. This is still part of the continuing fall out from the failure of the funding referendum from last November. This is on top of cuts such as the closure of Elston and Niemann, the loss of middle school assistant principals, 10% paycuts for administration, the loss of elementary school coaches and teams, and other staff cuts.

What is interesting is that as another near year has passed, two items have hit the news that tell me there are probably more dark clouds on the horizon for MCAS. #1 The Gary schools may be on the verge of filing bankruptcy, which I believe would be a first in the state of Indiana. #2 the Valpo schools are not only looking for more tax funding, but they might actually see a DOUBLE referendum as they look for money for not only new schools, but also about another $5 million for operations. What does this mean? It means the situation for MCAS is probably going to get worse, and we will be seeing more cuts on the horizon if more revenue isn't found soon. If I had to bet on it, the next two big things that will be gone after are Coolspring school to close, and future retiree benefits will either be slashed or cut out all together. Coolspring close was talked about already if the MCAS couldn't save enough money through outsourcing. The retirement stuff is something that has been done in places like the steel mills and auto plants as those companies have shrunk their payrolls over the last generation or two. For those who want to scoff at me, remember that I was the one who public predicted that Elston would be a top target for closing, when pretty much no one else believed it possible.

I know people are sick of hearing about the referendum and school funding, but this did not end the day the referendum failed. The fallout is still raining down around us, and will continue to do so.