BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (IUSTV News) — The Monroe County Community School Corporation Board of Trustees are expected to consider approving a resolution to merge Childs and Templeton Elementary Schools at the next board meeting Tuesday night.

The board announced at their March meeting they would vote on the merger plan at the April meeting.

The original plan of the merger would transition kids to Childs Elementary for pre-K through second grade, and Templeton Elementary for third through sixth grade over a three-year period.

The goal of the merger, which has been in the works for several months, is to consolidate the two schools based on socio-economic status and to address concerns over a disparity in recourse availability at the two schools.

According to MCCSC, a school’s socioeconomic status is calculated by the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. The district reported that 72% of Templeton students qualify for the program, but only 9% of Childs students do.

The original plan, which was drafted by now-former MCCSC Superintendent Jeff Hauswald, said that the consolidation would bring the percentage of students on free or reduced lunch to just 37% after the merger.

Additionally, the socio-economic status range for the entire MCCSC district would drop 6% if the merger was adopted.

The resolution says that the superintendent would have until the end of 2024 to submit the final plan to the Indiana Department of Education.

If adopted, the merger would go into effect starting during the 2025-26 school year.