The Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) presented a two-year phased strategy to achieve financial balance at the regular meeting of the Board of School Trustees on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
Superintendent Dr. Markay L. Winston presented the strategy as the culmination of her comprehensive assessment of MCCSC’s fiscal and operational health that she began in July 2024 upon her appointment as Interim. Winston shared the following trends and their impact on MCCSC’s finances:
- Monroe County’s Declining Population
- Declining Student Enrollment
- Increasing Payroll Expenses
- Reduction in State Funding
“Our decreasing revenue and increasing costs will require long-term, structural changes to achieve fiscal health. I am fully confident that we can tackle these challenges in a phased and thoughtful way over the next two years,” said Winston.
Over the past three school years (SY 2020-2021 through 2023-2024), multiple factors have caused MCCSC’s enrollment to decline by approximately 7.6% (835 students), resulting in a loss of $17.2 million in revenue from the state, while total payroll expenses for all employees have increased by 31.7%, at a cost of $28.6 million during the same time period. In addition, Monroe County population projections forecast a decrease of approximately 400 additional students for MCCSC over the next 10 years.
MCCSC has also experienced losses in state funding over the years, including voter-approved funds. As one example, voters approved $17.3 million dollars for MCCSC’s 2022 Referendum Fund to be used for teacher and staff wages. In 2023, the state of Indiana enacted tax caps on this Referendum Fund, reducing MCCSC’s projected revenue growth for the fund to be approximately $1.3 million less than what was approved by our community for 2025.
Winston shared the corporation’s next steps in its five-phase plan over two years.
Winston has completed the major components of Phase One: MCCSC’s comprehensive fiscal review and cost analysis, that she began in July 2024. MCCSC will begin Phase Two this spring by implementing some measured cost containment strategies.
“The strategy that will be prioritized is one of natural attrition,” said Winston. “Every year, approximately 80-100 teachers and 250- 300 support staff are hired in response to retirements or resignations. As employees leave, we will carefully assess the viability of reassigning existing staff into vacated positions.”
Phase Two will also include a comprehensive analysis to identify the most appropriate structural strategies to position MCCSC for long-term fiscal health, while minimizing disruption to student learning. In the last three phases, MCCSC will establish a revised financial management plan, implement strategies to achieve financial sustainability, and continuously evaluate.
MCCSC shared its guiding principles as the corporation begins this two-year strategy.
“Our commitment to our community is that we will continue meeting the needs of our children, and we will make decisions with students at the center,” said Winston. “We value the principles of transparency, honesty, respect, and integrity. We believe transparency is the route to accountability. To that end, I commit to providing quarterly updates at our board meetings so that the public knows exactly what we are doing and how we are progressing toward our goals.”
The public can find information about MCCSC’s two-year phased strategy at mccsc.edu/strategy, where individuals can also sign up to receive quarterly updates or share considerations.
The Board meeting recording, presentation materials, and past meetings can be viewed on the Board of School Trustees tab at www.mccsc.edu.
The next regular meeting of the Board will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25 at the MCCSC Co-Lab located at 553 E Miller Dr, Bloomington, IN 47401. Board meetings are streamed online on MCCSC’s YouTube channel, linked at www.mccsc.edu.
