The Monroe County Community School Corporation board gave an update on its plan to achieve financial balance and discussed potential changes to the corporation’s cellphone policy and at its monthly board meeting Tuesday night.

MCCSC launched a two-year plan last February to achieve financial balance amid state budget cuts, declining enrollment, revenue decline, birthrate decline and increasing expenses.

Last year, Senate Enrolled Act 1 cut education funding for Indiana’s public schools, who are estimated to lose over $740 million over the next three years. That forced the corporation to make money-saving changes, including cutting 61 health aides, food service and custodial staff, and not raising teacher salaries. A Policy Analytics report from October found that MCCSC will see a funding reduction of over $30 million in the next five years. 

“We are working really hard to manage those headwinds as strategically and as intentionally and as in a disciplined manner as possible,” said MCCSC Superintendent Markay Winston.

A little over a year after announcing the plan, the corporation said it’s heading in the right direction.

Chief Financial Officer Matt Irwin said had the corporation not made changes to save money, MCCSC would have been projected to have a deficit of over $30 million by 2028. But now, he predicts MCCSC will have a positive cash balance of just over $35 million by 2028.

“We have come a long way, and we are taking steps in the right direction,” he said.

Breaking down cost-saving measures, the ‘new normal’

According to a presentation from Winston, in the 2019-20 school year, there were 10,897 students enrolled in MCCSC schools. For the 2025-26 school year, there were 9,939 students. At the current pace, Winston said the corporation could lose 140 students annually for the next 10 years, with a projected enrollment total of 8,572 students for the 2035-36 school year.

“As our enrollment fluctuates, we must continue to adjust our staffing levels accordingly in order to remain financially sustainable into the future,” she said.

Going forward, Winston said she will continue targeted staffing adjustments, program restructuring, as well as maintaining a focus on operational efficiencies and monitoring and managing legislative impact.

That involves using a strategic staffing model, which prioritizes voluntary retirements and resignations, then position transfers, then operational efficiencies, and lastly, position reductions. According to the presentation, there have been 90.57 voluntary resignations and retirements and 70.6 total position transfers. About 79 percent of staffing cost savings came from voluntary attrition and position transfers, 20 percent from position eliminations and one percent from terminations.

The next update to the board will be in August.

Reduction in force

During the public comment section of the meeting, Bloomington High School North junior Lyle Henry expressed discontent with the corporation’s decision to do a reduction in force and lay off a singular teacher, Hongzhi Wang, who teaches Chinese at North. According to May’s meeting documents, Wang is the only teacher that is listed as part of a certified staff reduction-in-force. She has taught Chinese at North and Jackson Creek Middle School.

“I’m here to speak out in support of my teacher,” Henry said. “…I just want answers; I’m not getting any clear answer. I want to know why only one person is getting riffed. I really want you guys to think about that. It’s an injustice.”

In the meeting documents, under certified staff change of status, William Sanders, who has taught Chinese at Batchelor Middle School and Bloomington High School South up until this point, will shift to teaching Chinese at North and South instead.

Sarah DeWeese, MCCSC director of strategic communications, said they are not able to comment on individual personnel matters. According to a human resources update presentation from February’s board meeting, the corporation determines staffing levels based on principles such as current and projected enrollment numbers and student needs.

Updating the cellphone policy

The board reviewed potential changes to the corporation’s cellphone policy to align with the state’s new cellphone ban bill.

Senate Enrolled Act 78, which passed earlier this year, does not allow students to access personal wireless devices, such as phones, smartwatches and tablets, during the school day. Devices would either need to be left at home or stored in an inaccessible place during the day.

The corporation’s draft of a new policy, which got a first reading at the meeting, states phones must be stored away, powered off and inaccessible during the school day. Students may be allowed to use phones before and after school, on a school bus or board-provided vehicle, during school-sponsored activities, during after-school activities and at school-related functions.

Exceptions in the drafted policy, where students may be allowed to use their personal wireless device, include during an emergency, to manage a student’s medical condition as part of an order from a licensed healthcare provider and if needed for language translation when no school-managed device is available. Students may also access their personal devices if the use is part of the student’s individual Education Plan or 504 Plan, or also if using an “unobtrusive audio recording device” for notetaking or learning assistance as long as only spoken word audio is captured. The device cannot capture, store or transmit images, and must be visible to the teacher when in use.

Alexis Harmon, MCCSC Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, said places devices could be stored could vary school to school depending on what resources are available at each location. Devices could be stored in places such as a backpack or a locker.

The policy will get a second reading and be voted on at next month’s board meeting.

Online learning update

The board also received an update on MCCSC’s online learning program. This is the corporation’s first year offering this program. It partnered with Edmentum, the largest provider of online learning in the state, to offer over 300 K-12 courses both synchronously and asynchronously, including Advanced Placement courses.

“We are offering online school to meet the needs of those in our community who've asked for an online option,” said Tim Dowling, MCCSC Director of Early Learning and Enrollment. “They asked for this for a variety of needs, and it's also in recognition that we have 200 students who are accessing online options at other places, and we want to be able to offer a platform where we can welcome back to a local option.”

As of May 8, Dowling said 76 MCCSC students had enrolled in the program for the 2025-26 school year. Of those students, nine participated in a hybrid model, an option available for high school students that allows them to take in-person courses.

There are 20 online graduates this year, Dowling said. Applications are open for next school year; so far, 19 students have enrolled for the 2026-27 school year, which starts Aug. 5.