By Kevin Karr

Anderson resident

I read in The Herald Bulletin the Anderson Community Schools system decided not to seek additional federal funding. ACS was one of 25 school systems in Indiana that chose not to seek the grant money. Over 300 school systems in Indiana applied for the grant money, and our take of the grant money would have been almost $1.9 million. Our new superintendent, Felix Chow, supported the grant. I was under the impression that ACS is in a budget crisis.

If the ACS system does not need additional funding, then why are we closing several of the elementary schools, including Killbuck Elementary, which is one of the best schools in the system? If the ACS system does not need additional funding, they why are we combining the middle schools and high schools?

The ACS board could have at least applied for the nearly $1.9 million grant. If they had applied for the grant and later realized they did not like the terms, they could have opted out. But now the opportunity has been lost. As a result of Mr. Morgan (president of the school board), other school systems in the state will get increased funding because they will split the $1.9 million that was slated for ACS. Increased funding for surrounding schools could possibly pull additional students from the ACS system. Every student lost results in a decrease in funding of about $6,000. Apparently Mr. Morgan thinks he has a higher level of expertise in this area even though more than 300 other school systems in Indiana, including most school systems surrounding Anderson, applied for the grant. Could it be that the other 300 school systems that applied for the grant see it for what it is, as opposed to seeing it for something it is not?

Turning down the grant money is only part of the problem. The board has a history of questionable decisions. How many students will the ACS system lose in 2010 and 2011 due to their latest plan? We were told the ACS system will save $1.2 million by having one middle school and one high school versus two seventh- through 12th-grade schools. If their plan causes an additional 200 students to leave the school system, this in turn could wipe out any savings due to the loss of $6,000 per student. When a student leaves this school district ACS loses the $6,000 and the money follows the student to their school of choice. Surrounding school systems “cherry pick” the best students from the ACS system. This may in turn decrease the average ISTEP test scores of the ACS system while increasing the surrounding schools average ISTEP test scores.

With the ACS system in such despair why do we continue to heat the Wigwam? I have heard that the heating costs for the Wigwam are over $300,000 per year. If the average ticket price is $5 per game, they would have to sell 60,000 tickets per year to break even. The School Board should get a back bone and “moth ball” the Wigwam and apply the savings to their deficit.

I never attended this school system, but I currently have three kids that do. I still believe things can be turned around with the right leadership. This reasoning is why I have not pulled my kids out of this school system, yet. The board needs to get it right. When I am bombarded with claims that the school system is in a financial crisis I feel it is reason for concern, and I assume it to be true. This latest move by the School Board not to apply for the nearly $1.9 million grant was another addition to their list of mistakes. Not only that, but the board has lost their credibility on past and future decisions. It is my belief that all current issues concerning the ACS system may need to be reviewed. When the school board turns down badly needed funding during hard times, all I can say to the current board is “don’t ask me for more money.”