Ball State-Muncie Schools Bill Dies After Chaotic Session End

00;00;00;03 - 00;00;19;22 Stephanie Wiechmann As the clock struck midnight, the Senate had one more bill eligible for passage - House Bill 1315, a school financial measure that would have changed rules having to do with the state takeovers of both Muncie and Gary schools. That's when Senate President Pro Tem David Long offered a motion saying that because of technical problems, Governor Eric Holcomb was extending the session until 1 a.m. 00;00;19;26 - 00;00;22;11 Stephanie Wiechmann Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane objected. 00;00;22;18 - 00;00;37;04 Tim Lanane You all have supermajorities in both chambers. You have every state office, and yet you couldn't get the work done on time. Now, that's not our fault. 00;00;37;06 - 00;00;40;26 Stephanie Wiechmann After consultation from a lawyer, Long agreed. 00;00;40;29 - 00;00;55;00 David Long I would suggest that we close up shop, not hear House Bill 1315 and move on. All right. Because I'll tell you what, things have melted down on the other side as well. We're not sure what's going on tonight. 00;00;55;02 - 00;01;01;03 Stephanie Wiechmann After the session, Lanane simply said the clock ran out on March 14th. He commended Long for adjourning the session. 00;01;01;08 - 00;01;11;23 Tim Lanane He didn't have to, acknowledge, what I was saying and the objection. But he's a man of integrity and of his word and believes in the law. And so he did the right thing. 00;01;12;00 - 00;01;31;07 Stephanie Wiechmann An hour before the chaotic adjournment, lawmakers received the conference committee report on House Bill 1315 that had been held up since a Monday hearing on the bill. The final report was to square the different versions passed by the House and Senate earlier this session, but it had to be taken through a rules committee before being voted on in that committee at 15 minutes before midnight. 00;01;31;07 - 00;01;35;25 Stephanie Wiechmann Bill author Republican Representative Tim Brown hinted at what held up the report. 00;01;35;25 - 00;01;53;29 Tim Brown And yes, this is the bill that did not have a Democrat conferees on it. I ask and ask and ask and ask. What would it take to put into the bill that I could accept to, get Representative Smith's signature? and, could not come to a compromise. So, Representative Smith signed it. 00;01;54;03 - 00;02;13;06 Stephanie Wiechmann The copy of the report given to the committee had no actual signatures at all. So members passed it to consider another bill. And then it was midnight. House Bill 1315’s progress through the General Assembly was a rocky one. Representative Brown insisted it was necessary to continue to fix multimillion dollar deficits in Muncie and Gary. 00;02;13;06 - 00;02;24;02 Melanie Wright We have the pattern for adults spending outside of their means and recklessly, meaning that models for children fraudulent behavior. 00;02;24;05 - 00;02;38;03 Stephanie Wiechmann In Muncie, two big issues in the bill stood out at Monday's hearing. Muncie area lawmakers like Lanane objected to replacing an elected school board with one appointed by Ball State that would have included members that did not have to live within the school district boundaries. 00;02;38;05 - 00;02;52;07 Tim Lanane I mean, we don't have taxation without representation already in this bill. I guess we're going allow people from the hinterlands to decide what the tax rate should be, and the school policies of the people within the district. You know, you might think that's a good policy. I don't, Mr. Chairman. 00;02;52;12 - 00;03;04;07 Stephanie Wiechmann The bill also wouldn't have required Ball State to give teachers collective bargaining rights. The university could choose to allow those rights, but did not have to. Democratic Representative Melanie Wright is a teacher in Daleville schools. 00;03;04;10 - 00;03;14;08 Melanie Wright I just think it's so important to have everybody at the table. Because of that insecurity, you know, wanting to know if they're going to be making the same amount because they have to plan for families. 00;03;14;11 - 00;03;37;14 Stephanie Wiechmann So what happens next? Muncie Community Schools is still considered a distressed political subdivision and is being run by a temporary emergency manager until June 30th. That's Administrator Assistance. Next, the State Distressed Unit Appeals Board will need to interview permanent emergency manager candidates. Administrative Assistance can apply again. Or, as Democratic Senator Karen Tallian says, so could Ball State. 00;03;37;18 - 00;03;41;07 Karen Tallian Muncie can work with Ball State without doing this bill. 00;03;41;11 - 00;03;49;29 Stephanie Wiechmann Under law created by a bill last year, MCS will keep an emergency manager until it can show two years of positive cash flow and meet other requirements. 00;03;50;03 - 00;04;07;20 Stephanie Wiechmann Ball State’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet on March 30th. In an earlier statement, the board said it had hoped to pass a resolution taking up the request to run MCS. Now, it may consider what options the university could take to work with the school district going forward. In Muncie, Stephanie Wiechmann, IPR news.