South Bend may finally allow John Glenn schools to take Greene Township. Here's why.

SOUTH BEND — The South Bend school board has agreed to explore relinquishing a section of its district to the nearby John Glenn School Corp.

Board members voted in favor of exploring the disannexation of Greene Township during a meeting Monday night in a move administrators say could help the district get ahead of several state-level attempts to force the township from South Bend schools.

Disannexation: Greene Township residents serious about leaving South Bend

Greene Township residents first sought to break off from the South Bend district along with Liberty Township in 1979. That interest found renewed purpose in 2018 after the school corporation closed its Greene Intermediate Center because of budget constraints and declining enrollment.

Indiana law allows a township to be annexed from one school corporation to another if both districts agree, but South Bend administrators had previously opposed attempts to let the township go.

"It's not an easy thing when someone comes in and says 'We want this tax base,'" said Brian Kubicki, an attorney for the South Bend district. "It was understandable that our initial reaction was not 'Yeah, go ahead. Take it.' It was more, 'How are we going to make this happen if it's going to happen?'"

The South Bend district's hesitation over the years led to several failed legislative efforts to create a pathway for disannexation without both districts' support.

But now, South Bend administrators, seeing a cycle of continued proposals from state lawmakers, say it’s in their best interest to work with John Glenn schools to negotiate terms of the township’s removal that are agreeable to both districts.

At stake for South Bend schools is about $1.5 million in annual funding and maintaining the district’s current bond ratings.

"If we sit back and don't take action on this, the risk is that the legislature will do it and provide for an avenue for Greene Township, and possibly other areas of the district, to move without our consent or control," Kubicki said.

John Glenn stands to benefit by putting new tax dollars toward increased services — like door-to-door busing — for students in the township.

"Through open enrollment, John Glenn school corporation is already providing educational services to a majority of the school-aged children who live in Greene," John Glenn Superintendent Christopher Winchell said. "We just believe that we can both best serve all of our students in both districts by deriving an agreed upon plan."

What does disannexation mean?

If disannexation were to occur in Greene Township, South Bend schools could stand to lose funding in multiple ways.

First, the school district would no longer receive state tuition support — a dollar amount that follows each student to the school or district they attend — for students absorbed into John Glenn schools. That loss is estimated at about $530,000, South Bend's assistant superintendent of business and finance, Kareemah Fowler, said Monday night.

Second, the district would likely lose some of its property tax base after John Glenn's district boundaries expand to include Greene Township residents and businesses.

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For South Bend schools, that could have an impact on referendum funds calculated and bonds issued with the assumption that Greene Township would remain a part of the district for years to come. The move could hurt South Bend schools not only through an estimated $1 million loss in tax dollars, but also in negative marks to the district's bond ratings.

By negotiating directly with John Glenn, South Bend leaders believe they may be able to work out a compromise allowing the South Bend corporation to continue collecting tax for its 2020 operating and capital referendums and other debt service funds from Greene Township properties. John Glenn could then collect the remaining portion of property tax.

The South Bend district has discussed providing John Glenn the option to buy its closed Greene Intermediate School building. Winchell said his district doesn't have the enrollment at this time to support taking on another property, but that growth in the future could merit consideration of a sale.

The superintendent said he's hopeful that as the two districts craft their disannexation plan, they can create a window of time for John Glenn to decide on buying the building.

The South Bend corporation will also look to create a pathway that allows students already enrolled in their district to stay once disannexation is complete and to continue transportation services for those students.

Winchell said he expects the districts will work together to create as little disruption as possible for families with students attending both districts.

South Bend leaders say 72 students living in Greene Township are enrolled in their assigned South Bend district this year. Others, through public district transfers, are attending nearby John Glenn, Union-North and New Prairie districts, Kubicki said.

Winchell said he estimates John Glenn serves about 175 students from the Greene Township area.

South Bend school board members’ vote Monday night is just the first step in disannexation. All board members except Vice President Leslie Wesley, who abstained, voted in favor of exploring the issue further.

To move forward, both school corporations will need to pass near-identical resolutions detailing their plans for disannexation. This plan will also need approval from the State Board of Education and will need review from Indiana's northern district court to ensure compliance with South Bend schools' operation under a federal consent decree.

Kubicki said the district is hopeful of meeting a July 1 target for disannexation, meaning Greene Township could officially become a part of the John Glenn district by next school year.

Winchell took a more cautious approach and suggested that while both school boards may come to an agreement by this summer, state and court approvals may require more time. He said he doesn't expect John Glenn to attain its initial tax collection from Greene Township until at least 2024.

Effects of Greene Township leaving

Efforts to legislate the issue captured interest across Indiana last year after Republican lawmakers shouted down their Black colleagues who expressed concerns of discrimination in a floor debate over a bill that would allow smaller, less diverse school districts to remove students from larger, diverse districts like South Bend.

South Bend showed some concern over how the Department of Justice, which oversees the district's federal consent decree, might respond to a majority-white township like Greene leaving South Bend schools.

State legislation: South Bend school official warns of 'unintended consequences'

Greene Township's population registered as 90% white in the 2020 census, while South Bend schools' overall student population is 37% Black, 24% Hispanic and 27% white, according to the Indiana Department of Education.

"There may be some other questions ... regarding the overall impact," Kubicki said Monday. "What message might this send?"

Those who proposed state legislation said the issue was never about race but ensuring small districts like John Glenn could receive funding to support transportation for students they were already serving through open enrollment.

Winchell said those concerned need only to look at the long history of Greene Township, where residents have pushed for decades for removal from the South Bend district and have chosen, through open enrollment policies, to send their students to John Glenn schools.

He said with only 72 students from the township attending South Bend schools, a district of about 16,000 students, Greene Township's disannexation would change very little about the corporation's overall demographic composure.

"There's no racially connected undertones with this conversation," Winchell said. "It's really the result of the historical connection between our school district, our townships, with Greene Township."

On the floor: Republicans boo Black lawmakers who speak about discrimination

Sen. Mike Bohacek (R-8th) introduced legislation this January aimed at tackling the issue yet again, but his proposal in Senate Bill 93 was withdrawn before it could be discussed in committee. Bohacek, through a spokeswoman, said Monday afternoon his bill was withdrawn because “the problem was fixed locally.”

"There's always a legislative fix, but that's never preferential," Bohacek said Tuesday. "If they can work it out locally, there's no need for legislation. Quite honestly, I'm happy I don't have to legislate it. It's best when it gets fixed locally."

Winchell said he has long kept a "collegial" relationship with South Bend schools and preferred to work on the issue locally rather than turning to state legislation, which could limit South Bend's input in the change.

"We really believe in local control," Winchell said. "We really believe that school boards and superintendents should be making decisions that are what's best for their communities, their schools."

Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Carley Lanich at clanich@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @carleylanich.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend school board to explore districts with Greene Township