Muncie Community Schools
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Muncie Community Schools (MCS) is a school district headquartered in
Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is a city in Delaware County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It is located in East Central Indiana about northeast of Indianapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 c ...
. The district is coextensive with Center Township, Delaware County, and it includes the vast majority of the municipality of Muncie.


History

In 2008 the board of trustees of the school district became majority African-American. In a period before 2018, the number of students in the district decreased. Circa 2018 the
Indiana Department of Education The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) oversees primary and secondary education in the U.S. state of Indiana. The department is managed by the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, an elected office most recently held by Jennifer McC ...
gave the school district a "C" ranking. Seth Slabaugh of ''
The Star Press ''The Star Press'' is a morning edition newspaper for Muncie, Indiana, and surrounding areas. History In 1860, Nathaniel Fuller Ethell founded the weekly newspaper ''Delaware County Times''. The paper sometime around 1865 was renamed to ''Mun ...
'' wrote that year that the district was "high-poverty" and "has been in failing financial health for years". In 2018 House Bill 1315, a proposed law put in the Indiana Legislature stated that
Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...
would take control of the Muncie district's school board. The legislative session ended, and the bill was not heard by the
Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...
nor by the
Indiana Senate The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year ...
. Geoffrey S. Mearns, the president of Ball State, stated disappointment about the bill not passing. In an opinion column for the ''Star Press'', Jeff Ward argued that the members of the Indiana Legislature should have advanced the bill, and that "incompetence" rather than political opposition prevented its passing. At the time, the Republican Party had supermajority status in both the Indiana House and the Indiana Senate. A special session was called which allowed the bill to be reconsidered. House Bill 1315 made it to the
Governor of Indiana The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the U.S. state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state gover ...
, who passed it into law. This meant the board of trustees of the university began to operate the school district, on July 1, 2018. The board selected Lee Ann Kwiatkowski to operate the district in 2019. She retired in 2024, effective June 30. Chuck Reynolds became the new head of the school district. In period prior to 2021, the enrollment had decreased. That year, the district administration anticipated that enrollment would now stay about the same. In 2022, it raised the salaries of teachers, and the district administration stated that it was the largest such occurrence in the history of the school district. Stephanie Wiechmann of
Indiana Public Radio WBST (92.1 FM) is a National Public Radio-affiliated station in Muncie, Indiana. Studios and offices are located at Ball State University. WBST serves as the flagship station for Indiana Public Radio, which can be heard on three other stations ...
contrasted the raises in 2022 from the periods of financial issues that occurred around 2017.


Schools

High school: *
Muncie Central High School Muncie Central High School (MCHS) in Muncie, Indiana is a public high school. Opened in 1868, the school is today part of the Muncie Community Schools Corporation. It is the sole comprehensive high school of its school district, which covers th ...
Middle schools: * Northside Middle School * Southside Middle School Elementary schools: * East Washington Academy * Grissom Elementary School * Longfellow Elementary School * North View Elementary School * South View Elementary School * West View Elementary School Preschool: * Muncie Preschool


Former schools

;High schools * Muncie Southside High School ; Elementary schools * Mitchell Elementary School - Closed in 2017, with three board members voting in favor and two against. On April 6, 2017, the school had 202 students. Its areas were reassigned to North View Elementary School. * Storer Elementary School - Closed in 2017, with three board members voting in favor and two against. On April 6, 2017, the school had 276 students. Its areas were reassigned to West View Elementary School. * Sutton Elementary School - Closed in 2017, with three board members voting in favor and two against. On April 6, 2017, the school had 357 students. Its student body was divided between the East Washington, Grissom, and South View schools. Prior to the 2017 closures of the Mitchell, Storer, and Sutton schools, according to the ''The Star Press'', MCS operated more schools than multiple school districts in Indiana of a similar student body size.


References


External links


Muncie Community Schools
{{Muncie, Indiana Education in Delaware County, Indiana School districts in Indiana Education in Muncie, Indiana