Facing Change: Union School Corporation Staff Responds to Dissolution

The superintendent of a rural school corporation in eastern Indiana is fighting against lawmakers after a property tax overhaul passed by the Indiana General Assembly includes a provision to dissolve the Union School Corporation. Republican Governor Mike Braun signed Senate Bill 1 into law on Tuesday.

Superintendent Galen Mast tells us the school district is weighing its legal options and looks to file an injunction against the amendment.

“Our first step is to fight it,” Mast said. “We’re going to keep our doors open for years to come, we have a wonderful community here.”

The district serves about 300 students in person, in Henry and Randolph Counties, as well as nearly 9,000 online through a partnership with the Indiana Digital Learning School.

Mast believes his schools are being targeted partly because of those online services.

“It’s a sorrow that the legislators would do this to another school,” Mast said. “Their own kids go to school, the grandkids go to school, they would never do it to their own.”

The last-minute amendment to SB 1 essentially singles out the school district, shutting it down on July 1, 2027.

Mast says in his 30 years in education, he’s never seen any of his schools targeted like this.

“The movie ‘Hoosiers’ — imagine shutting down that school,” Mast said. “That’s what they’re doing. They just don’t realize it. They don’t understand the impact of it.”

Union Schools employs about 80 people in person and another 300 teachers for their online students.

Jama Marlow, a high school civics teacher, says the back door addition to dissolve the school is ironic from her point of view.

“I’ve tried to teach and instill that our way of government is very productive, prosperous and good,” Marlow said. “It’s very difficult for me right now to say government is good. When a school is gone, the community dies.”

The head of the district is encouraging the community to attend a town hall hosted by both Sen. Alexander and Rep. Prescott, where they can share their concerns about the dissolution.

Mast adds that the staff is ready for the legal battle ahead of them.

“(We’re) staying strong, focused,” Mast said. “Everything goes on as normal, and we’re staying the course. Our actions are going to be swift and decisive. We’re going to keep fighting the good fight.”

Statements

Mast calls their argument a red herring as there’s other schools with lower test scores that weren’t singled out.

“Many of those 9,000 students are the students that the schools didn’t want or … couldn’t make it work within the brick and mortar school.”

The head of the district is encouraging the community to attend a town hall hosted by both Sen. Alexander and Rep. Prescott. It’s from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Randolph County Fairgrounds.

He adds that the staff is ready for the legal battle ahead of them.

“(We’re) staying strong, focused,” Mast said. “Everything goes on as normal, and we’re staying the course. Our actions are going to be swift and decisive. We’re going to keep fighting the good fight.”

As it stands, Blue River Valley and Monroe Central School Corporations will absorb Union Schools. Neither superintendents responded to News 8’s request for comment.

“The Union School Corporation has faced longstanding challenges, including some of the lowest reading proficiency scores in the state and declining enrollment. Only 42.6% of their third graders passed the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination (IREAD) compared to more than 90% in neighboring districts, and over 60% of students who live in the district boundaries have transferred out and attend school elsewhere. This amendment is about starting a conversation on how to better serve these students and ensure they have access to a quality education.”

State Rep. J.D. Prescott (R – Union City)