The superintendent of the 270-student Medora district in southern Indiana plans to step down as superintendent to save the district money.
Indiana has a handful of districts under 500 students. The state adopted a new funding formula expected to cut funding to smaller districts with declining enrollments, according to an article in the Columbus Republic.
John Reed told the district that it can save about $50,000 if it hires a part-time superintendent, or $123,000 if it can do without a superintendent altogether. From the article:
Reed, who had headed the 270-student district since 2008, said Wednesday he felt there was no other choice but to resign in advance of "the cruncher" the district will face under the new state school funding formula lawmakers approved in April. "I told the board that to maintain your programs—all that you offer the kids—the only thing that's logical is that you do something at the administrative level. And that's when I gave them my resignation," he said.
Reed said he has lined up a non-superintendent job at another district.
The Indianapolis Star wrote in May about the newly-adopted funding formula. While supporters say it takes away money from poorer schools, the lawmakers who supported it say that it provides equity to districts that have to deal with the classroom crunch prompted by rising enrollment.