MUNCIE, Ind. — Efforts to shore up the financially strapped Muncie Community Schools system, including suggestions of consolidating the city’s two high schools, have exposed a divide that Mayor Dennis Tyler cautions could undermine efforts to bring new businesses and residents to the city.
Muncie schools have lost nearly 1,000 students in recent years, and school officials are hosting a series of public meetings to look at the future of the school district. The discussions include what to do with school buildings, funding and the possibility of consolidating middle or high schools, The Star Press reported.
Residents at the first forum earlier this month overwhelmingly objected to combining the high schools. Many Southside High School parents and students warned that families would move their children outside the city rather than send them to a combined high school.
Tyler said closing either school could affect efforts to revitalize the city and said the community needs to be united as Muncie tries to get back on its feet.
“We saw a lot of downsizing of communities with what happened to the auto industry,” the mayor said. “I think we’re seeing renewed growth and interest now in communities like Muncie. I sense a lot of good things happening.”
