BSU to potentially take over MCS

I had an interesting conversation with a high University official. Pointing out that if Muncie is doomed to a downhill ride we are now married to a problem we might conceivably be able to survive if we stayed independent.

The BOT is happy apparently with a bet on us improving the schools and Muncie as a community beating the odds and succeeding where the rust belt has failed elsewhere.

Everyone is happy if that happens.

If not, oh well, it'll be a wild ride...

Doubt there is much of a plan here. Doubt anyone knows enough to answer your question. How can you evaluate it?

This is a big mess may be no good solution. Everyone agrees on that. But now it's our mess. Things can go very bad with best of efforts.

Then bsu gets a lot of flak...

I find it interesting that some acquaintances on Facebook who are members of the MTA have lost their mind over BSU taking over.

Same here. Most of the community support/non-support seems to breaking down over party lines as well.

I don't see party political response as much demographics of the community. 

Also, I don't know if anybody is expressing really vocal support, other than a vague sense that something needs to be done.  I'd count most of that as fairly meaningless support.  And the non support includes a lot of bipartisan apathy which probably got us in the mess over 50 years.

Let's face Muncie voters have not been realistic about schools for decades and everyone is guilty of ignoring the problems leading to the issues we see now.

Besides all that party lines in Muncie reflect that the affluent population with children have moved away elsewhere far away, or fled to the county.  That leaves teachers and those with children in a declining school system to care very much and they are of course skeptical about any solution...and are actually losing any voting influence on the school board. 

That's where I see non-support and suspicion, and I understand that complaint.

Those groups most impacted directly and immediately by any action in Muncie are probably Democrats, that is true.  And most GOP voters in Muncie either don't have kids in school, or are not teachers, plus there is some politics simply opposing whatever the Democrats seem to want.  And after all the theoretically non partisan school board over MANY years has not exactly done very well dealing with the problem.   All of us have ignored the long term community problems, under GOP or Democrat mayors and representatives in local government. GOP voters who wanted Northside 50 years ago share the blame with Democrats who wanted a white elephant middle school for the South side just a few years ago. Neither side exactly tried to deal with it as a community.

Most in the GOP have been relatively happy to see property tax caps, don't have kids in school and don't see any negatives of that, and most all of us have been around so long watching school administration mistakes.   So maybe apathy is understandable,  we either don't give a damn, or think any change is a good one.  I get that.

So I see suspicion about a GOP House Committee, which cut funding sources to schools and are not seen as acting to solve a problem which needs resources as well as good management.   They are taking away community control.  

Those supporting the changes aren't that vocal either, I suppose that reflects mild hope by a lot of people that something good might happen, not any great enthusiasm or engagement.

Sadly I still don't see this as a battle where there are good solutions, and I sure don't see the politics helping it.  I guess I agree with you there.

Oh please...tell me, assuming we are in big trouble, and need resources, where the resources are being offered to dig the community out of the hole?

There is no question at all that property tax caps and initiatives allowing easy transfer and charter school creating have taken funding away from MCS. 

I think some of that is good.  BUT.  Where it has been good for some able to take advantage of moving, and where taxpayers have benefited, there just isn't any doubt resources are not there that would have been there.  In fact Muncie and its schools may be doomed to failure. In which case, BSU may be engaged in a losing fight.  I am not an optimist here.

Also, I have no great trust that MCS without changes will not spend money they do have well.  

Still if we are talking about solving the problems that requires both better management and more resources to manage.

That's downright stupid.  There are flat our fewer resources for MCS.  MCS ends up left with the students unable to leave the system who are often those requiring the greatest amount of resources.  They are left with old buildings, old faculty, the same bad administrators at most levels, and all these things mean the waste and loss is a greater part of their budget. 

I am no optimist there is a good solution.  Muncie may have dug too deep a hole in 5 decades... So I am neither a vocal supporter or vocal critic of the proposal.  If BSU trustees vote to make this move BSU will be part of a possible solution.  Not one I terribly optimistic will succeed.  Unless the better management they provide comes with additional resources. 

Good management only goes so far in making something out of nothing.