BLOOMINGTON — The Monroe County Community School Corporation has postponed a merger between Childs and Templeton Elementary Schools that was set to begin for the 2025-26 school year.
The decision came at the board's Tuesday night meeting. Board members were concerned with the planning timeline, which remains in the early stages.
Dr. Markay Winston, the district's interim superintendent, originally had until the end of 2024 to submit the final plan for the merger to the Indiana Department of Education, however the district said they have the option to extend the deadline.
The goal of the merger, which was approved by the board in April, is to consolidate the two schools based on socio-economic status and to address concerns over a disparity in resource availability at the two schools. The Board has not decided on grade configurations and which school each would transition to.
The current grade level configurations being considered are either K-2 and 3-6 or K-3 and 4-6, said Sarah DeWeese, Director of Strategic Communications for MCCSC.
MCCSC’s administrative planning team presented data which showed a full merger would impact approximately 450 students in the first year, 60 students each year after, and would require 240 students to move back to their original school in the transition from primary to intermediate grades.
A phased merger would impact approximately 60 students per year and eliminate multiple school transitions.
Preston Smith, a consultant with Business Information Services, shared a presentation as part of preliminary data gathering for the Board’s resolution to redistrict elementary schools.
The Board stated their intent to examine the Childs-Templeton merger, the redistricting study, and Smith’s data together, instead of separately, in order to potentially reduce costs and student impact, DeWeese said.
No decisions have been made on a timeline.
