April 5, 2017 at 5:03 p.m.
SW will send bus to Pennville
SW will send bus to Pennville
Pennville area students will have the option of taking a bus to Southern Wells schools next fall.
In a move Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley called “unprecedented,” the Southern Wells School Board on Monday approved extending its bus service to Pennville, Montpelier and Warren.
Southern Wells already attracts a significant portion of its student body — between 25 and 32 percent — from outside the district’s boundaries, but with the closing of Pennville Elementary School next fall, the district was encouraged to expand its school bus service to bring in even more out-of-district students. The district already draws a significant amount of students from the Montpelier area in Blackford County and the Warren area in Huntington County, but previously sent a bus only as far as the county lines.
“This is a new development for school districts,” said Gulley. “I think it’s going to create bad blood among school districts in rural Indiana. … To my knowledge it’s unprecedented around here.”
In a move Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley called “unprecedented,” the Southern Wells School Board on Monday approved extending its bus service to Pennville, Montpelier and Warren.
Southern Wells already attracts a significant portion of its student body — between 25 and 32 percent — from outside the district’s boundaries, but with the closing of Pennville Elementary School next fall, the district was encouraged to expand its school bus service to bring in even more out-of-district students. The district already draws a significant amount of students from the Montpelier area in Blackford County and the Warren area in Huntington County, but previously sent a bus only as far as the county lines.
“This is a new development for school districts,” said Gulley. “I think it’s going to create bad blood among school districts in rural Indiana. … To my knowledge it’s unprecedented around here.”
Gulley indicated he had received assurances in the past that Southern Wells wouldn’t extend its bus service, but the Southern Wells board had other ideas.
“The board made the decision,” Southern Wells superintendent Steve Darnell said Tuesday. “We had a lot of parents call board members directly. … That’s what prompted our board to make the decision.”
Darnell said there had been no effort to solicit Pennville area students and no flyers had been sent out. However, he acknowledged that parents in that area had been surveyed and 87 percent said they would make use of school bus service if offered.
“We did not seek them out,” Darnell said. “We did not go looking for children.”
But with state support for schools directly tied to student enrollment, some members of the Southern Wells board saw the move as a way to boost revenue, noting that if the extension of bus service could attract 100 more students it would translate into $600,000 to $700,000 more for the corporation’s general fund.
Declining enrollment has plagued Jay Schools for decades, with the school system losing an average of 49 students per year for the past 10 years. That has resulted in deficit spending in the corporation’s general fund, a situation that led the board to decide in March to close Pennville Elementary after this school year.
It’s unclear how many students will take advantage of the bus service, which will involve one bus stop in Pennville.
But Joe Vinson, who played a leadership role in the effort to keep the Pennville school open, thinks the number could be significant.
“From the talk, it’s a lot,” he said Tuesday. “I think you’ll see a pretty big number. … Fifteen are going no matter what happened. And that was with no bus.”
Darnell said three Pennville area families already send a total of six students to Southern Wells in Poneto.
Gulley said Tuesday that students who would have attended Pennville Elementary in the fall will be assigned to Bloomfield, Westlawn and Redkey elementaries. He said parents were surveyed and 75 percent will get their first choice. One hundred percent will get their first or second choice.
“Parents told us they were considering this option,” Gulley said of the prospect of losing students to Southern Wells. “I believe some will come back in time. … I trust parents to do the right thing when they’re informed. … We’ll make the adjustments we need to make.”
Gulley noted that 32 Jay County students now attend school outside the district, while more than 60 students who live outside Jay County come here to attend Jay Schools.
Darnell said Southern Wells will do its best to welcome new students.
“These parents want the best for their kids,” he said. “Jay County, I feel for them. I really do. They’re in a pickle.”
Vinson expressed regret that it’s come to this.
“I’d rather none of this happened,” he said. “I went to Jay County. I love Jay County. It’s heartbreaking for me.” But in the end, Vinson said, he and his wife have to decide “what’s best for our kids’ future.”
“The board made the decision,” Southern Wells superintendent Steve Darnell said Tuesday. “We had a lot of parents call board members directly. … That’s what prompted our board to make the decision.”
Darnell said there had been no effort to solicit Pennville area students and no flyers had been sent out. However, he acknowledged that parents in that area had been surveyed and 87 percent said they would make use of school bus service if offered.
“We did not seek them out,” Darnell said. “We did not go looking for children.”
But with state support for schools directly tied to student enrollment, some members of the Southern Wells board saw the move as a way to boost revenue, noting that if the extension of bus service could attract 100 more students it would translate into $600,000 to $700,000 more for the corporation’s general fund.
Declining enrollment has plagued Jay Schools for decades, with the school system losing an average of 49 students per year for the past 10 years. That has resulted in deficit spending in the corporation’s general fund, a situation that led the board to decide in March to close Pennville Elementary after this school year.
It’s unclear how many students will take advantage of the bus service, which will involve one bus stop in Pennville.
But Joe Vinson, who played a leadership role in the effort to keep the Pennville school open, thinks the number could be significant.
“From the talk, it’s a lot,” he said Tuesday. “I think you’ll see a pretty big number. … Fifteen are going no matter what happened. And that was with no bus.”
Darnell said three Pennville area families already send a total of six students to Southern Wells in Poneto.
Gulley said Tuesday that students who would have attended Pennville Elementary in the fall will be assigned to Bloomfield, Westlawn and Redkey elementaries. He said parents were surveyed and 75 percent will get their first choice. One hundred percent will get their first or second choice.
“Parents told us they were considering this option,” Gulley said of the prospect of losing students to Southern Wells. “I believe some will come back in time. … I trust parents to do the right thing when they’re informed. … We’ll make the adjustments we need to make.”
Gulley noted that 32 Jay County students now attend school outside the district, while more than 60 students who live outside Jay County come here to attend Jay Schools.
Darnell said Southern Wells will do its best to welcome new students.
“These parents want the best for their kids,” he said. “Jay County, I feel for them. I really do. They’re in a pickle.”
Vinson expressed regret that it’s come to this.
“I’d rather none of this happened,” he said. “I went to Jay County. I love Jay County. It’s heartbreaking for me.” But in the end, Vinson said, he and his wife have to decide “what’s best for our kids’ future.”
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