Possible Merger For Elkhart Schools
The plan includes merging Elkhart Memorial High School and Elkhart Central High School.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowElkhart Community Schools is proposing a plan that would merge two high schools. Our partners at FOX28 report the plan from district administrators includes a reorganization that would affect every school in the district.
Under the plan, Elkhart Central High School and Elkhart Memorial High School would merge into one school with two campuses. Elementary and middle schools could see different grade levels in their buildings as well.
Elkhart Superintendent Robert Haworth tells FOX28 the plan would keep the district competitive in the future. He says the district would need $33 million but they can get the money without raising taxes because of the debt structure set up by his predecessors.
"They knew that improvements were going to have to happen in Elkhart, things were going to have to be different," Haworth told FOX28. "We’re right in the middle of a vibrant communities discussion. You can’t be a vibrant community unless you have vibrant schools."
Haworth says while enrollment is up, the district has lost about $10 million in state funding due to about 1,500 students going out of district.
The school board is set to adopt a strategic plan based on the district’s proposal in July. The public will have the opportunity to give feedback before the vote at a series of community meetings in June.