Muncie Schools To Keep Northside Middle School Open In 2018-19

Muncie Community Schools will keep its Northside Middle School open for another year, according to a new letter shared with school board members this week.  IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports.

Last year, Ball State University purchased Northside Middle School from Muncie Community Schools for $1.27 million.  But, the university offered the district a deal – they could keep the school open and operating for up to five years, if they paid $1 a year to lease it.

This letter is included in public documents for the school board’s April 24 meeting.

According to a May 14 letter to Ball State Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer Bernard Hannon, that’s what MCS will do for the 2018-19 school year.

School board members decided to keep Northside open in April 2017 as they voted to close three elementary schools to “right size” the district.  And last December, MCS approved a plan to change how middle school looked throughout the district.  That plan seemed to phase out Northside as an operating school.

But since then, MCS was given a state-appointed emergency manager with the power to possibly change any plans the district had.  And, if a bill passes during a special legislative session next month, that emergency manager could be replaced with Ball State University itself – which would be allowed to take over the responsibility for and daily running of MCS for the foreseeable future.

READ MORE: Ball State-Muncie Schools Bill Included In Special Session

Ball State’s purchase agreement, announced last November, says the university will pay the district $60,000 a year for each year Northside is leased as part of a maintenance plan for the building.