A chorus of slightly off-pitch violins pierced through the auditorium’s attentive silence Wednesday night during the Monroe County Community School Corporation inaugural superintendent’s Student Excellence Awards and State of Our Schools address. The musical performance by Fairview Elementary School violin students set the stage for a night recognizing student excellence and the future of MCCSC.
Superintendent Markay Winston began by congratulating the students being honored.
“Every day our students remind us what is possible when opportunity, access, dedication and passion come together,” Winston said.
The recognition invited a round of applause from the couple hundred parents and community members in the audience.
Winston served six months as interim superintendent starting in July 2024 before she was named superintendent in early January of this year.
She held around 200 listening sessions in the six months she served as interim superintendent. She met with parents, teachers, students, bus drivers, custodians and others as a part of her three-phase initial plan to superintendency: Listen, learn and lead.
“One thing became clear, every parent I spoke with, no matter their income age, race, ethnicity, language spoken in the home or their zip code, they all want the very best for their children,” Winston said. “They want opportunities for their children, they all want good teachers, they want excellence.”
Though the spirit of the night was celebratory, Winston did not refrain from addressing the challenges facing MCCSC.
MCCSC receives funding from the state to cover wages and benefits for the teachers and support staff. The sum of state funds relies on student enrollment.
Indiana provides a fixed base amount of funding per student. Declining enrollment has led to considerable financial strain on MCCSC.
Over the past three school years, factors such as declining population growth, lower birth rate and an aging population have contributed to MCCSC’s enrollment declining by approximately 7.6%, or around 835 students, Winston said.
Monroe County predicted a reduction of approximately 400 additional students for MCCSC over the next 10 years, according to Winston. The shrinkage will result in a loss of nearly $17.2 million from the state.
On top of that, the cost of wages and benefits increased by nearly $30 million as a result of raises for teachers and support staff in the same time period.
“It's not sustainable,” Winston said. “We cannot afford a decline in state and federal funding resources. MCCSC has already experienced loss in state funding over the years.”
Proposed legislation to cut property taxes that MCCSC schools rely heavily on would further the financial strain. If Senate Bill 1, a controversial Indiana property tax bill, is passed, the corporation stands to lose millions of dollars over the next three years.
Winston made it clear she is voicing her concerns to lawmakers and elected officials and urged the audience to do so as well.
As daunting as the losses seem to her, Winston hopes her two-year strategy to achieve financial balance could be the answer.
The five-phase plan beginning in Spring 2025 is a student-centered strategy to provide lasting financial health for MCCSC. The first phase, an extensive fiscal review, began in July 2024 and is largely completed, according to the MCCSC website.
Phase two will begin this spring and prioritize natural attrition.
“Over the next two years, we will focus on identifying the most appropriate structural strategies to position MCCSC for long-term fiscal health while minimizing disruption to student learning,” Winston said.
Winston has committed to providing quarterly updates at board meetings so the public can remain up to date on the progress toward these goals.
