MCCSC Projects $8.1 Million in Savings Amid Funding Challenges

Written from press release

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) is projecting $8.1 million in annual savings as part of its two-year Strategy to Achieve Financial Balance and Sustain Excellence, according to an update presented at the Board of School Trustees meeting Tuesday night.

The district began implementing the strategy six months ago, following its first financial transparency report in May. Superintendent Dr. Markay Winston said most of the progress so far has come from employee retirements, resignations, and the elimination of non-classroom positions.

“Our team has worked diligently and thoughtfully to minimize direct impacts on students and teachers,” Winston said. “My number one task as Superintendent is to stabilize our budget while also ensuring our focus on excellence in all that we do.”

Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Operations Dr. Jeffrey Henderson told board members that staffing plans are being adjusted to align with enrollment while preserving classroom instruction, student support services, school meals, and facilities. He noted that the student-to-certificated staff ratio has remained virtually unchanged since 2019.

The district faces financial pressure from multiple directions: declining enrollment in Monroe County due to population loss, state funding reductions tied to new legislation, and federal grant cutbacks. SEA 1, a state law passed earlier this year, is projected to reduce MCCSC’s state funding by tens of millions of dollars over the next eight years. Additional losses are expected after 2028, when the district will be required to share property tax revenue with charter schools.

Meanwhile, Indiana’s Choice Scholarship program grew by 31.6% in 2023-24, further reducing public school enrollment. Locally, Monroe County has posted the state’s lowest birth rate for the past decade — half the state average — compounding long-term enrollment declines.

“Due to these factors, we anticipate significant revenue losses, and I am confident in our ability to navigate these impacts, as long as we stay the course,” Winston said. “We are making steady progress, but our work is not complete.”

MCCSC serves about 10,000 students in 23 schools. The district has committed to quarterly updates on its financial plan, with the next report scheduled for November.

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