The Monroe County Community School Corporation board met this week to discuss its plan for redistricting, restructuring, and reorganizing.

This plan was made to address declining enrollment, unused and outdated buildings, financial pressures, and socioeconomic imbalances across the elementary schools in Monroe County.

A major theme of the meeting was improving school experiences for students.
Board members felt that school buildings should do more than just serve as a place to teach and learn but also create spaces where all can thrive.

With redistricting, board members want to make sure funds are being used effectively. They emphasized the balance between building repairs and improvements that would benefit students and teachers.

One board member, who was also a teacher, said she would like teacher spaces to be considered in the guiding principles of the project. She said she would like to see a place that provides “relief or some comfort” for teachers after a long day.

Another board member agreed, saying, “The teachers and staff are an important part of the equation because without them, quality learning environment is very hard to aim for.”

The improvement of students’ experiences and opportunities focused on how to make sure every student had a place to belong. This included adding or revamping clubs, extracurriculars, or other activities for students.

Members of the board who had kids in MCCSC schools wanted their children to be able to try as many different things as they could and not feel tied down or limited in their choices. This brought the discussion back to the allocating of funds.

“If all we do is fix buildings and we don't provide anything that meets the desire for ‘I want my kid to be able to experience X, Y, and Z,’” a board member said, “I don't know if that's going to win the day.”