State board clears way for public vote on splitting West Clark Community School District

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An Indiana state school board meeting turned into a divorce court of sorts Wednesday morning as leaders from the West Clark Community School district begged the state for permission to split.

In a 10-1 decision, the state school board paved the way for a vote on splitting West Clark Community Schools into two separate school districts: Silver Creek and Henryville-Borden.

"All parties of West Clark past and present think they're in a horrible marriage," former West Clark School Board member Kevin Guernsey said. "All parties think they're being cheated in West Clark ... Henryville, Borden and Silver Creek, and perception becomes reality when that takes place."

Splitting up the school system works much like a divorce, where the two sides debate which kids they'll maintain, assets and finances. West Clark schools has about 4,000 students in eight schools spread through three cities.

"It's monumental," Silver Creek parent Scott Groan said. "Each community now gets to change its course of action for its children for the next decades to come."

The split follows a failed vote on a tax increase to fund school construction. Most of the spending would have gone toward Silver Creek, and parents in Henryville and Borden voted it down. Wednesday's decision means residents in the district will be able to vote on a split in a future election.

"They will not allow these blunders, because they will have better oversight and management of resources, because it will be on a local basis," Guernsey said of a new Henryville-Borden school board.

Some Borden parents initially balked at the idea of a split, however none of them spoke during public comment at Indiana's State Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday. The West Clark School Board unanimously voted to split. Hundreds of people packed public hearings on the matter. Fewer than 15 of nearly 100 public comments submitted to the board were against the separation of the school district.

Many parents in each community feel their kids' schools get short-changed funding the others.

"Resources for athletics, for our classrooms ... we don't have counselors that we need to deal with behavior issues," Silver Creek parent Carrie Linderman said. "We just don't have all the staff we need to support our kids."

Despite a 10-1 vote, there was some concern from the Indiana State Board of Education General Counsel's report. It questioned whether Henryville-Borden would be financially stable as its own school system.

"I need to know what is the impact on learners," one dissenting board member said. "What is the impact on the courses? What is the impact on the culture of the schools?"

With approval to move forward from the state, the issue next goes back to the West Clark board members to set an election.

Leaders say they expect the vote to be a part of the May election next year.