- Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Monroe County Community School Corporation
- Board of Trustees met on August 25th. During this meeting, the board agreed to hold a work session to
- formalize the school system's redistricting process. School Board President Aaron Cooperman said declining
- enrollment and underused school buildings mean some kind of change to the district's boundaries is likely.
- My position is that some kind of redistricting, reorganization, or restructuring is inevitable. Even
- if we were willing to say socioeconomic balance is not part of our criteria, even if cost-effectiveness
- alone were our only criteria, which I don't think it should be, but even if that were it, I think this
- report said that our current utilization rate is 69% across the corporation, and at the industry standard it is 85.
- even if we were only talking about redistricting, reorganization, and restructuring to adjust for declining
- enrollment and financial realities, I personally think it's inevitable. So the way I would answer the
- question is, if the question is, do we move forward with defining parameters and applying those parameters
- or metrics to options for change, my answer to that would be yes. I am on board with that.
- Cooperman proposed bringing the full board together to determine what criteria should guide the redistricting
- process. In the past, we have sometimes made small task forces to bring something back to the board,
- whether that's a resolution or, and it could be a working resolution that we take friendly amendments to.
- Board member April Hennessy argued that the school district has not undertaken major redistricting steps
- in a long time and urged the board to consider socioeconomic balance along with building capacity and
- declining enrollment. You know, existing attendance zones I think should not be treated as an inherently
- neutral position. You know, I think that there's this thought that like redistricting is like a is a
- controversial decision.
- But I would argue that maintaining the kind of status quo or the districts as they sit is also potentially
- controversial, right? It is not a neutral position to say, we're just not gonna redistrict, we will
- just stay as it is. The status quo is inherently sort of controversial as well, I think, especially
- when we think about the fact that we truly haven't done or engaged in true redistricting in a very,
- very long time.
- And whether or not we're solving for population density, for moving populations of individuals or groups,
- whenever you have a district that has lagged for so long in looking at their boundary or catchment zones,
- I think you're going to end up with problems.
- Assistant Secretary Dr. Tiana Iruo-Jay says the district still needs to determine exactly what it is
- trying to accomplish before evaluating potential redistricting maps. You're right. As a board, we haven't
- made, like, decisions or even know what is the percentage of the socioeconomic status we're trying to
- reach. I mean, I go back and forth. I've enjoyed reading this and reading all the
- comments that people have made. But I think as a board, we have to know what are our clear financial
- targets. I mean, what is the cost savings with this as well? Because I mean, as you all were talking,
- too, about if you move students to another school, are schools going to close? I mean, what's the capacity
- of that building? All of that, too, I think is something that we should think about as well.
- The board eventually asked Superintendent Dr. Markay-Winston to organize a comprehensive work session
- on redistricting, reorganization, or restructuring. For now, it remains unclear when the work session
- will take place or what specific attendance zones or schools might ultimately be affected. The MCCSC
- School Board will meet again on September 22nd.
- Monroe County Council met on August 25. The meeting opened with a vote to table the 2027 target fund
- balance resolution until September 8 and to move up several other budget discussions. During public
- comment, Christopher M.G. from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce warned of looming fiscal
- choices urging counselors to challenge longstanding spending habits. Good stewardship doesn't
- It doesn't always mean just spending less. Sometimes it means saying no. Sometimes it means redirecting
- resources. And sometimes it means making a substantial investment now instead of failing to act that
- will cause taxpayers considerably more later. And from the Chamber's perspective, we also have to keep
- our eye on growth. We can make better choices about how we divide the pie, but over the long term, we
- need that pie to grow larger through more jobs, more investment, more housing, and a stronger tax base.
- What matters is that those decisions are deliberate.
- measurable and tied to the county's most important responsibilities. The council then heard concerns
- from the planning department, which has lost three of its eight employees in the past nine months, largely
- over pay. Planning director Jackie Scanlon addressed the staffing losses and presented a proposal aimed
- at resolving the issue. The number one reason for losing those key people have been for salary.
- and two of those people left to the city of Bloomington to take a lateral position that paid $18,000
- more. Monroe County Plan Commission President Scott Ferris followed, echoing Scanlon's concerns. Those
- disparities are pretty gross. I mean, 20, 30% for like positions. That impacts, like most of you already
- know, the morale
- the quality of life and retention, as well as keeping the doors of the business open for a planning
- department that is currently overworked and understaffed. Later, during department updates, Monroe County
- 4-H highlighted how county support affects the program and its participants. Recent high school graduate
- Correll Patnode described her decade-long experience with 4-H as both educational and community building.
- 4-H is not just a great organization. It is my life and my family. I don't know what I would do without
- it. And it was such an honor to represent not only Indiana, but our great county. Thank you.
- The council meeting then turned to homelessness with heading homes Mary Morgan discussing a
- county appropriation that would help expand a housing first pilot program for people currently living
- outside. The funding debate came just hours after the county cleared a large encampment at the Thompson
- power line property. Council member Pete Iverson criticized how the eviction unfolded.
- we need to have a much more robust plan. We cannot steal people's stuff, put it at the highway garage,
- and not have a way for them to get out there to get it. That is unethical. It's unmoral. We cannot.
- There's just so many problems. Are we changing the date without giving people a time when we're going
- to be there? These are residents in our community. This is wild that this happened this morning.
- So I thank you for being here and trying to answer the questions the best you can. I'm at loss of words.
- We need to do better. I understand that it was a really rough decision to make, and I don't think that
- there were, I don't see answers just as there aren't to any of these situations. So yeah, I do think
- we need to do better.
- Addressing questions from the council, Morgan explained some of the limitations of the community's current
- housing and shelter options. Extreme barriers to housing that people cannot overcome by themselves.
- And all of that really was evident in a very visible way at the power line
- Thompson encampment. And I don't have a good answer for you. We did have staff out there working to
- try to encourage people to go into shelter, to try to connect them with other services. But if people
- were not willing to go to shelter for a variety of reasons, some had animals that they didn't want to
- leave, some were couples that there's no sheltering available for couples without children.
- And it's just a really challenging situation that this new initiative is trying to prevent from happening
- in the future.
- Despite concerns about long-term funding, a slim majority of counselors backed the heading
- home appropriation. The meeting then moved to county employee pay. While the council signaled support
- for a raise, members stopped short of final approval, instead voting to build a 2% cost of living adjustment
- into draft 2027 budgets. Contingent on using economic development income, tax dollars to fund it.
- Finally, the council took a step toward convening a municipal unit strategic task force, or quote, must,
- unquote, this fall. The process is optional under state law, but opens the door to renegotiating how
- local income tax revenue is distributed between the county and its cities and towns. Council member
- Iverson emphasized his desire for broad participation. It is my desire, and I'm speaking just for myself,
- This includes all Monroe County taxing units. I want everyone to be invited to this party. The resolution
- to form the task force passed unanimously, setting up negotiations over local income tax shares as the
- county enters its own budget season. The next Monroe County Council meeting is September 8th, with budget
- meetings scheduled for September 2nd and 3rd.
- The Monroe County Board of Commissioners met on August 27. During public comment, local resident Don
- Cross said that while he praised the staff at the Justice Building, he is concerned about the working
- conditions inside the building. I and a few others pray with people at the Justice Building from time
- to time for the past 10 years. We are genuinely impressed with the staff that we have met and who work
- in the Justice Building.
- the clerk's office, prosecutor's office, judges, courts, public defenders in the jail and others. We
- found them as friendly, diligent servants of our county who really care about their work and the people
- that they serve. Many of our prayers over the years and especially lately have been for health issues
- related to negative physical conditions in the justice building, some of them very serious.
- As Monroe County resident, it is deeply disturbing to me that many justice building workers must deal
- with and endure such negative conditions on a day-to-day basis year after year. Conditions that I would
- not want to work in, nor would I want for people I cared about to work in. I urge that positive steps
- be taken as soon as possible
- to relieve this situation short-term and long-term for the sake of the people who serve our county so
- well. County Commissioner Julie Thomas responded that she considers the building structurally unsound
- and wants to move out. It is a failing building and we'd like to move out of it. And we've been stymied
- in that effort. And that's unfortunate for everybody that works there and everybody that is housed in the jail.
- or works in the jail. And we actually hear a lot of these issues raised in the media and elsewhere.
- And the thing is, we continue to have mold remediation and testing done in every one of our county buildings
- because the mold levels are very high in this county.
- in the summer anyway. But the situation last year led us to have an ongoing contract. That work goes
- on and it continues. Next, the commissioners discussed ongoing impacts from the June tornado that swept
- through the area. Thomas said the county has signed a letter of intent to seek grant funding for clearing
- creeks and removing log jams. This is related to the June 2026 tornado.
- and the hope is that we can get some good creek clearing of log jams and things which will help keep
- everyone safer and it will also keep our roads lasting longer. So that's one of those long-term impacts
- of a tornado. We just had a grant related to Clear Creek
- from previous tornadoes. So this one is new and very exciting opportunity and I hope it works. I hope
- it happens and it would be great if it did. Commissioner Jody Madeira addressed criticism that the county
- did not do enough to help in the aftermath of the June tornado. She defended the county's response and
- the work of emergency responders. So the June 26th tornado
- June 2026 tornado brought criticism that I think we had not done enough. The facts do tell a different
- story. I think we had done our part that just as we do with every single disaster community faces. And
- so we issued an emergency declaration and we had done things like consider and approve contracts for
- roll off dumpsters. We received updates, we asked questions, and we offered assistance. In short, we
- did our job.
- Also the Monroe County Fire Department, the Highway Departments and Emergency Management also performed
- admirably immediately following the tornado and throughout the days of recovery that followed. They
- did their jobs and it's important I think that we really keep the record straight and give credit to
- the people and the departments who do respond effectively when our community needs them to. The County
- Commissioners will meet again at 10 a.m. on September 3rd in the NatU Hill Room.
- The Ellisville Town Council met on August 24th. The agenda started with an ordinance regarding the commercial
- use of public records. Town attorney Darla Brown walked the council through the details. So the town
- is receiving more and more requests for public records that appear to be requests for information so
- that the requester can use it for commercial purposes.
- and there is a section under the access to public records statutes which allows for a municipality to
- pass an ordinance which prohibits the information being used for commercial purpose and that is the
- purpose of this ordinance. If the town council passes this ordinance then any requester seeking information
- that appears to be requested
- for use for commercial purpose will be required to sign a certification under the penalties for perjury
- that they will not use it for commercial purposes. Okay. Just by way of explanation, this is incredibly
- burdensome for our staff because some of these record searches go on for years that they're asking for
- data. They're asking for some very arcane data that is, of course, public record, but on the other hand,
- we're not able to charge for the data that our staff is
- producing so that these people can turn around and then make a profit off of it. So that's what this
- ordinance is intended to prohibit, not to prohibit you from getting the data you need for your own purposes,
- but for someone turning it into a for-profit industry at our expense. Councilmember William Ellis and
- Attorney Brown discussed what would happen if a citizen did use public records for commercial purposes
- should the ordinance pass. Darla, what is the penalty if they
- say it's not for commercial uses and they use it as a perjury or was there another? Well, you can certainly
- decline to provide them any records in the future. If you could prove perjury in a court of law, that
- would be great. Okay. Chances are it'll be more just realistically for time, money and effort,
- just say, right, you're done. The ordinance will be posted on the Alexville Town Council website for
- the public to read.
- Later in the meeting, Chief of Police Jimmy Durnall spoke to the council about a conditional offer of
- employment to fill a vacancy in the police department, as well as the transition plan for when he and
- Chief Deputy George Robinson leave the department. Deputy Chief George Robinson and I will be leaving
- at the end of January in 2027. So we want to make sure you were clear on that. We've got about four
- and a half, five months for transition.
- I think President Oldham has a plan to do that tonight. But again, I just want to thank my officers
- for coming overnight. It really means a lot to me. Thank you. Well, first off, let's start us with a
- thank you to both you and Deputy Chief Robinson for absolutely making sure the state on track for a
- long time. And you've really been able to do some wonderful things with the department. We deeply appreciate
- it. And I'm sure they have a whole lot more nice things to say later in the year, but
- For now, just suffice to say thank you both. It's really been a pleasure. In the back of my head, even
- back when I was trooper in Connorsville District, I always thought, I saw Don Kooster driving around
- here. I know I'd like to be him. I want to be him. But he ended up in Chief of Police over here. So
- it worked out wonderful for me. Thank you so much. Thanks, Jimmy. Congratulations. Thank you. The next
- meeting of the Ellitsville Town Council will take place on September 14th.
- And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.
- Summer of 83.