April 16: Redistricting Study Project Charter Shared 

The Redistricting Study Commission met for the first time on Wednesday, April 16. The 90+ Commission members include MCCSC teachers, staff members, parents, guardians, students, and community members.  

The meeting began with a review of the history of redistricting in MCCSC. The Redistricting Study Commission Charter was also shared, which outlines the Commission’s purpose, scope, deliverables, and goals. The Redistricting Study Commission will work toward identifying the most important aspects that will be used to evaluate redistricting models in MCCSC, in alignment with the top two priorities determined by the MCCSC Board of School Trustees.    

The Commission spent time in small breakout groups discussing and providing input to help identify what those important aspects may be. They also discussed what kind of information from MCCSC might be needed in their discussions going forward.  

MCCSC families, staff, students, and community members are also invited to provide their input on the same topics discussed by the Commission via an online survey. Responses gained from the Commission and from the online survey will be compiled to identify a final list of the most important aspects that will be used to evaluate redistricting models in MCCSC.  

The online survey will be open until noon on Monday, April 28. 

Membership in the Commission was publicly advertised in March, and membership was open to all individuals districted in MCCSC who were able to attend all Commission  meetings. 
 

Materials Shared/Referenced: 

• MCCSC Redistricting Study Project Charter  

• Meeting Slide Deck 

• History of Redistricting 

• Understanding School Finance Parent University Video 

• Business Information Services’ Board Presentation about Redistricting 

April 23: MCCSC Information & Data Shared and Business Information Services Presentation

The Redistricting Study Commission met for the second time on Wednesday, April 23. 

The meeting began with a presentation of information about MCCSC that was requested during the World Cafe collaboration during the first meeting, a week prior.  Information was shared regarding MCCSC demographic and enrollment trends, current school boundary maps, free and reduced lunch rates, transfer policies and practices, and transportation, among other other topics.

Commission members then heard a presentation by consultant Preston Smith from Business Information Services regarding the redistricting scenarios he originally shared at the November 2024 meeting of the MCCSC Board of School Trustees.

Attendees then had time to discuss the information they heard during the presentations and provide feedback.

Materials Shared/Referenced:

• MCCSC Redistricting Study Project Charter
• MCCSC Presentation Slide Deck
• Business Information Services Presentation Slide Deck

The priorities of the Redistricting Study are set by MCCSC’s Board of School Trustees. At the November 2024 MCCSC Board of School Trustees meeting, Preston Smith from Business Information Services presented some data and options for potential redistricting.  At that meeting, he informed the Board that to move forward, they needed to pick priorities.  At the December 2024 Board meeting, the Board identified the two priorities as first, balancing socio-economic status among the schools, and second, to ensure cost-effectiveness.  

Currently, Indiana schools, including MCCSC, use free and reduced lunch rates as our indicator of a school's socio-economic status. The Commission may also consider other measures to help inform socio-economic status. 

We will be sharing articles that contain research and best practices with Commission members throughout this process.  Everything shared will be linked to Commission meeting updates available further up on this page. 

At the second meeting of the Redistricting Study Commission on April 23, 2025, the current rates of free and reduced lunch rates at each school were shared as well as some district transfer information.  Data does show that each school’s socio-economic status (SES) is impacted differently by transfers.  In some schools, the transfers increase the percentage of students who are low SES, while in other schools, that number is reduced.  Here’s the slide deck from April 23rd. 

The Redistricting Study Commission has been tasked by the MCCSC Board of School Trustees to study redistricting via Board Resolution 2024-05, with two priorities, balancing socio-economic status (SES) and considering cost-effectiveness.   

The task of the Redistricting Study Commission is only to study redistricting, as outlined in the project charter. At this time, it has not been determined that any redistricting will take place or when.  We do know that no redistricting changes would take place prior to the 2026-2027 school year. 

At the February 2024 MCCSC Board of School Trustees Meeting, the Board passed Resolution 2024-05 in order to commence the process of examining attendance zones with the intent to study how greater socio-economic balance between schools might be achieved. The resolution called for the recruitment of experts in the areas of demography, enrollment, and districting to assist with the process. In May 2024, the Board contracted with Business Information Services, a demographic consultant, to study the redistricting of MCCSC’s catchment/attendance zones. At the November 2024 Board of School Trustees meeting, Preston Smith, from Business Information Services, presented 14 scenarios for redistricting.  In his presentation, he outlined the data he used, including demographics of the area such as birth rates, school-aged children, socio-economic status, new developments and home sales, etc. He also based his models on building usage and efficiency.  He presented some of this information at the Redistricting Study Commission April 23rd meeting as well. 

Studying cost-effectiveness is a priority of this study. However, revenue sharing with charter schools is outside the scope of the study’s Project Charter. 

State legislation says if a public school corporation closes a school, they must sell or lease the unused building to charter schools for $1 if the charter school wants the space. However, the law states that districts that repurpose buildings can avoid selling them for $1.  As an example, IPS has avoided charters taking over some of their buildings by moving administrative departments into the space, making them Early Learning Centers, or facilities for maintenance departments, etc.  If it is utilized by the corporation, they do not have to sell the school for a $1 to a charter school. 

There have been examples of growth in certain areas of our district that required additional redistricting efforts within a few years of one another to accommodate large population shifts.  In the 1990s, there were multiple readjustments that needed to take place due to growth in specific areas of town.  Being aware of future neighborhoods and areas of growth is important. 

Students had additional opportunities to tour the buildings and meet staff both at the end of the school year and before school started during the transition. Transition IEP conferences also took place at the end of the school year, prior to the transition taking place in the fall.  There is no documented feedback from families of special education students archived from 2005.   

MCCSC will continue to work to retain the students we have and attract new families to enroll. 

This information was shared at the April 23rd meeting of the Redistricting Study Commission.  Please see slide 20 in this slide deck presentation. 

Ride time is calculated by comparing the approximate pick-up time at home or school with the approximate drop-off time at school or home. 

Our software, Versatrans Routing & Planning, does not account for traffic, bus acceleration/deceleration, and estimates the length of time needed to make a bus stop and time for students to board. This leads to some error in this measure. However, the transportation department updates routes as we get feedback from drivers in order to better approximate the bus route time. Additional technology has allowed GPS information to be used to update route timing and best predict ride time as well. 

In education, "Title I" refers to a federal funding program designed to support low-income students and improve their academic achievement, according to the U.S. Department of Education. It's the largest federal aid program for public schools in the U.S., originally part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and now part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Title I schools receive additional funding to provide targeted assistance and support services to students who are struggling academically, especially those from low-income backgrounds. Seven MCCSC elementary schools are considered Title 1 schools (Arlington Heights, Clear Creek, Fairview, Grandview, Highland Park, Summit, and Templeton).  These schools also have the highest populations of students who are considered low socio-economic status (SES). 

SB1 is Senate Bill 1 that was passed by the state Senate and signed into law (SEA 1) by Governor Braun during the 2025 legislative session. Due to this legislation, it is anticipated that MCCSC will lose $17 million over the next 3 years, and more after 2028 when MCCSC will be required to share property tax revenue with charter schools.