00;00;00;01 - 00;00;23;10 Stephanie Wiechmann Under the final version of the bill, Muncie is essentially put on probation. If Governor Eric Holcomb signs the measure, Muncie will be designated as a fiscally impaired school corporation and interim emergency manager will be appointed to make financial decisions until December. This gives the district time to enact the deficit reduction plan it passed last week, and the bill says that emergency manager could actually be MCS Superintendent Steve Baule. 00;00;23;13 - 00;00;28;20 Stephanie Wiechmann On the Senate floor, Democratic Senator Tim Lanane supported the measure and directed a message to MCS. 00;00;28;20 - 00;00;48;22 Tim Lanane Now they've got to come together. The superintendent has to work with the teachers. He can't take advantage of being in some special position and saying, I'm just going to tell you what you're going to do now. He has to cooperate. He has to be up front. He has to be transparent. The teachers have to be willing to cooperate. 00;00;48;24 - 00;00;55;19 Tim Lanane Everybody has to sit down. I told everybody I'm not interested in finger pointing. I'm interested in a solution. 00;00;55;22 - 00;01;16;29 Stephanie Wiechmann In December, the distressed unit appeals board, known to lawmakers as the DUAB board, will review MCS's progress. If enough has been made, district officials get back control. If not, Muncie will be designated as a distressed unit and a full state takeover begins. Like Gary Community School Corporation, MCS would only emerge from state control when it shows two years of positive cash flow. 00;01;17;02 - 00;01;24;00 Sue Errington This language is an attempt to soften the blow, but it's still a blow. 00;01;24;06 - 00;01;40;15 Stephanie Wiechmann Not every Muncie lawmaker is pleased with the bill. Democratic representative Sue Errington voted against it in the House. She says the bill takes away power from the elected school board, who will be largely limited to making decisions on academic issues until December. Errington also says any designation is bad for the city. 00;01;40;17 - 00;01;54;21 Sue Errington What kind of image does that give to parents who are trying to decide, do I want to keep my child in this school or not? And if I'm a prospective employer, what does this do for Muncie? 00;01;54;28 - 00;02;10;24 Stephanie Wiechmann The measure passed the Senate unanimously and with a vote of 88 to 10 in the House. Though Muncie’s addition to Senate Bill 567 has dominated the news cycle in recent weeks, Democratic Senator Eddie Melton says the bill was first and foremost about Gary, whose state takeover would begin immediately. 00;02;10;29 - 00;02;25;17 Eddie Melton I'm not aware of any other community that have suffered the devastation of Gary in terms of loss of industry, loss of population, the blight, the low assessed valuation, the collection rate, and we can't do it alone. 00;02;25;20 - 00;02;31;16 Stephanie Wiechmann The bill now goes to the governor's desk for consideration in Muncie, Stephanie Wiechmann, IPR news.