I started covering school boards in 1977 and have learned a great deal about education after attending board sessions off and on for more than 40 years. My first time covering a school district with declining enrollment came in Columbus, Indiana.
The Bartholomew Consolidated Schools had to deal with declining school enrollment. The population of Columbus and the surrounding area within the school district had not seen a population decline, but demographic changes led to fewer students in school.
People around Fishers have been watching as the Hamilton Southeastern School District has struggled with massive growth that has been going on at least since I moved here in 1991. And I will admit, rapid growth is a big challenge for elected school boards and administrators, as well as the greater community.
But if you want to imagine a much bigger challenge, think about dealing with declining enrollment that means school buildings must be closed. That’s what Columbus was trying to handle in 1981 and 1982. One junior high school needed to be shuttered and perhaps elementary buildings were on the chopping block at that time.
Cummins Engine Company even offered to buy the oldest junior high structure, Central Junior High near downtown, to help the school board out. The board politely declined.
There were very emotional public meetings about all the options. Students and parents at Central Junior High presented a passionate plea to keep their school open, but were shocked to discover that if Central remained open, redistricting would be required and nearly half the students attending Central would end up going to another junior high.
The final decision was controversial in Columbus. Two older elementary schools were closed and a newer junior high building on the south side of the district was converted to a large elementary school.
I worked hard on that school closure story in Columbus while working as a reporter at WCSI Radio in Columbus. I was honored to have won an Associated Press award for one of the stories I wrote during that process.
I started thinking about all that when watching the coverage of the situation faced by the Carmel-Clay School Board. Those board members are dealing with a declining student population due to changing demographics. They are looking at the possibility of closing an elementary school.
This will be a painful process. Parent and community organizations are already gearing-up to defend the school located in their neighborhoods. Public meetings will be held and they will be emotional.
So when those of us living in the Fishers area within the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District see this, be thankful we are not dealing with declining school enrollment, at least not yet.
The HSE District is constructing a new elementary building just off Southeastern Parkway, on Cyntheanne Road. This construction is not to handle added enrollment, it is aimed at taking students out of mobile classrooms still being used at some Grade K-4 buildings.
But let’s keep an eye on the demographic forecast locally. The latest report from demographer Jerry McKibben showed very slight enrollment increases through 2021, followed by declining enrollments in years 2022-2027.
My bottom line message is this. Yes, rapidly growing enrollment numbers year after year take a toll on all of us. But I have covered declining enrollments.
If the demographic predictions are correct, it will be a few years before HSE Schools would face building closure decisions. And, there are always unforeseen future events, like an unexpected surge in population within the school district, that cannot be foreseen at this time.
But chances are, some day, HSE Schools will be dealing with declining enrollment. I saw what happened in Columbus and how painful and divisive such a process can be. We are beginning to see how this will impact Carmel. Just be aware it can happen to us in the next 5-10 years.
