Republican property tax plan would dissolve Union School Corp. Superintendent says he was not told

Lawmakers made sweeping changes this week to a comprehensive property tax reform measure. One of those changes includes the dissolution of a public school district.

SB 1 would dissolve Union School Corporation located in east-central Indiana. Union Superintendent Galen Mast said in a letter that the corporation didn’t know about what he calls “a tricky way to force consolidation” until Monday.

He said the district serves nearly 9,000 students, though fewer than 300 in person. Union has three virtual schools alongside its brick-and-mortar elementary and high school buildings.

Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton) said forcing the district to shutter will save taxpayers money.

“Taxpayer dollars are not being spent wisely at all. And the administrative cost for that size of school, it’s extremely large,” he said.

The bill says pieces of the corporation would be annexed by two neighboring corporations by July 2027. All of the district’s territory located in Henry County would be annexed by the Blue River Valley School Corporation. Union territory located in Randolph County would be annexed by the Monroe Central School Corporation.

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Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) said the state is overstepping its authority.

“The action of dissolving the school corporation in Senate Bill One, it’s unprecedented,” he said. “It doesn’t happen. It’s never happened before.”

In his letter, Superintendent Mast said if the district is annexed, local property taxes could nearly double. He said the district will fight to remain intact.

Kirsten is our education reporter. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair.