What happened
13 teachers and four staff members are left without jobs after the Ball State-owned charter International School of Columbus, for Grades 7-12, closed Oct. 25.
Why
The International School shut its doors two days after Wednesday’s board vote to close the school at 3136 S. National Road.
The board could not raise $250,000 that would have been needed to keep the school open throughout its fifth year of operation.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Shawn Bentz was a full-time music and history teacher just days ago. Today, he is out of work after the Ball State-owned charter International School of Columbus closed because of financial problems.
He has applied at Lowe’s, Walgreens and other businesses.
“I’m not going to be picky,” he told The Republic. “I’ll take anything that comes along.”
Bentz is among 13 teachers and four staff members left without jobs after the school, for Grades 7-12, closed Oct. 25.
The International School shut its doors two days after Wednesday’s board vote to close the school at 3136 S. National Road. The board could not raise $250,000 that would have been needed to keep the school open throughout its fifth year of operation.
Bentz, who had been with the International School since it opened in August 2009, is among several former staff members worrying about their futures and financial security. He has been his family’s sole financial provider since his wife lost her job five years ago.
Finding a full-time teaching job at this point is unlikely with the school year well underway and district budgets set, Bentz said.
However, he lives outside Waldron in Shelby County, which Bentz said is close enough to a number of schools where he might have an opportunity to be a substitute teacher.
Bentz tried to keep the mood at school light during Friday’s final day, playing a bugle between classes in place of a bell that was moved over the summer to a larger facility that was supposed to accommodate imminent growth.
He might as well have been playing taps.
While most students quickly were settling into new schools, teachers and staff members were scrambling to land new jobs so they won’t face an economic hardship after their final paychecks arrive in two weeks.
The International School is not offering a severance package to its paid staff. While unemployment benefits are available, state law sets those at less than half of workers’ regular wages.
Bret Tirey came to the International School of Columbus two months ago, eager to start a math teaching job that would make his move from Bedford worthwhile.
“I have a lease,” Tirey said of a townhouse he rents. “There’s only enough money for two or three months. All I want to do is teach. That’s my passion.”
Tirey, who is single, came to the International School in August. He went through the expense of moving from Bedford and now finds himself forced to look for a different job in the Columbus area so he doesn’t have to break a one-year lease he signed for his apartment.
He said he began his job search Oct. 14, when he caught early word that the school was in financial trouble. At this point, Tirey said he is interested in only teaching jobs and hopes something will open up.
He may have to file for unemployment but said he is putting his faith in a higher power to pull him through a tough financial time.
Angelo Achuil, who taught social studies part time at the International School, said the school’s closing turned his world upside down.
He moved to Columbus from southern Sudan in Africa several months ago to pursue teaching, he said. He got his job with the International School while simultaneously holding a full-time job at Columbus Container, which he said pays the bills.
His plan was to pay for his family in Sudan to join him at the end of the school year. But his abrupt departure from the International School has persuaded him to return to his family in Sudan, barring a surprise teaching job that comes along in the next few weeks.
Achuil said he has enough money in the bank to get back to Sudan.
Gail Platter, an art teacher at the International School from the time it opened its doors, said she was putting together a résumé that emphasizes her communication skills in preparation for her job search. In the meantime, she said she is able to live off her husband’s salary.
Beth Woods, who worked as an interpreter for one deaf child at the school, said she worries about all the students finding a good fit as they continue their school careers.
But she especially worries about students with special needs. Ball State is paying a few local staffers for the immediate future to help those children find new schools that are able to meet their needs.
She said she, too, is able to live off her husband’s salary. She said she just wants to make sure her 20-year-old student finds the help that he needs.
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