Senate Bill 248 hits state senate floor for testimony

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --The controversial bill to replace the South Bend School Board with a state-appointed panel hit the Indiana Senate floor on Wednesday.

Proposed by Granger Republican State Senator Linda Rogers, Senate Bill 248 would end local school board elections, only in South Bend.

There was no vote on the bill, but it was the first time the public heard from Senator Linda Rogers about why she proposed the bill.

"There's been rallies, press conferences condemning the legislation as well as me and the other authors. It's okay not to like the bill. But if you don't like it, I'd like you to give me a solution," said Senator Rogers.

Rogers addressed the floor first and defended the bill, saying it would be an attempt at a solution to the challenges facing South Bend Schools; like declining enrollment, under-utilized buildings, academic performance, and financial instability.

At its core, she said it's about improving student achievement.

"Approaches have not been put in place to resolve those issues until just recently," said Rogers.

Many from South Bend made the drive to the statehouse to testify against the bill in front of the Education and Career Development Committee, including SBCSC Superintendent Mansour Eid and fellow board member Jeannette McCullough.

McCullough told the committee that if the bill were to pass, families would lose their power to hold school boards accountable.

The main argument was that South Bend Schools are making a turnaround for the better, and the district needs time and trust from the state to continue on that path.

"I think there was a lot of misinformation that led Senator Rogers to come up with this bill," says Mansour Eid, South Bend Schools Superintendent. "I think that we cleared some of that misinformation, but we need to work harder at writing our own narrative so that people hear the truth from the beginning and not be misinformed."

Out of roughly a dozen testimonies from the public, all but one person spoke in opposition to the bill.

"People who are thinking about our community rule us out before we even know they're looking sometimes because they've looked at sort of what performance was, they've looked at IREAD, ILEARN and all those kind of things, how may are graduating, how many are chronically absent, what's enrollment looks like," says Jeff Rea, South Bend Regional Chamber President & CEO. "We've lost 3,000 students in the last three years, that's concerning. All those things influence what we do on the economic development side; we need a strong performing school corporation."

Rea voiced his support of the bill, using his business perspective and previous experience with a state-appointed board in Mishawaka several years ago.

He said current approaches have not resolved those key issues, and this drastic action is needed.

Some fellow committee senators even questioned the bill, noting there is already an established process for distressed school districts to receive state intervention.

Senator Rogers told the floor she plans on making changes to the bill, though she did not make those clear yet.

Senate Bill 248 will get a vote Thursday morning so it can move to the Tax and Fiscal Committee.