Latest news with #VigoCountySchoolCorp
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Goode language on education funding goes to governor's desk
Language authored by State Sen. Greg Goode, R-Terre Haute, that would create a local oversight board to ensure transparency and accountability in managing county resources for potential school improvements now heads to the governor's desk for final review. House Enrolled Act 1515 would allow Vigo County the option to transfer funding to the Vigo County School Corp. to help meet the district's needs. 'The language in HEA 1515 is similar to Senate Bill 382, which I authored and passed the Senate earlier this year, but did not continue through the legislative process,' Goode said. 'Vigo County is home to a great public school system, and I am happy to help local officials and the district come together to make much-needed improvements within our schools without raising property taxes.' The oversight board would be made up of members appointed by local government offices as well as the business community. 'As a proud graduate of Terre Haute's public school system, I am excited to see the work that could be done within our community thanks to the funding options this legislation provides,' Goode said. 'I'd like to thank the community leaders who worked on this language and helped me get it to the finish line.' Goode encourages residents of Senate District 38 to contact him with any questions or comments they may have. Goode can be reached by filling out a 'Contact Me' form online at or by phone at 800-382-9467.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Terre Haute mayor: Basic human rights are not political
A conversation on human rights can become politically charged, but it really boils down to meeting people's basic needs, says Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun. Those basic human rights are not political, he said. Sakbun, a Democrat, was the keynote speaker Wednesday during Terre Haute Human Rights Day at Indiana State University. "Both sides of the aisle should agree with me that every child should have a meal at school, every home should be safe and built to quality and every job should allow you to have a livable wage for you and your family," he said prior to his "fireside chat" address. "These are common sense policies." The city of Terre Haute addresses human rights through initiatives that aim to meet basic human needs related to food, housing and transportation, he said. He gave examples of the city's efforts to meet those basic needs, including removing transit fares that enable people to ride buses to get to grocery stores and jobs. The city has provided incentives to increase housing stock that also has a long-term positive effect on the homeless population, he said. Those homeless initiatives include wraparound services that relate to employment, social services and mental health. Terre Haute has partnered with the Pacers Foundation to expand its Drive and Dish program, which works with Terre Haute Catholic Charities and the Vigo County School Corp. to provide healthy meals to families in need. If policies and funding cuts at the state and federal level adversely impact programs addressing those basic needs, "That's when we have to have very candid conversations about what is the true definition of making America great again," Sakbun said. Among those attending Human Rights Day were an estimated 300 Vigo County School Corp. high school students and Sullivan County high school students. Eve Reid, a South Vigo junior, explained why it was important to attend the event. "Terre Haute is a rather liberal place, but we still live in Indiana which is profoundly illiberal," Reid said. "It's not a great place to be" depending on one's gender identity or sexual orientation "I want to do something to stand up, to contribute in any way that I can," Reid said. Attending Human Rights Day was one way to accomplish that. 'Everyday conversation' Valerie Craig, who serves on the Human Rights Day Committee, believes it was an especially important event given policies being implemented at the federal and state level, or as she put it, "in light of our world burning." "It's so very important for our students to hear an alternate way of thinking about the world in light of what is happening in 2025," she said. "I think human rights are so basic, this should be everyday conversation — in classrooms and around the community. But unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it's the thing to do right now. Right now it seems real canceled to think about the basic rights of others," she said. Terre Haute Human Rights Day "opens that door for our students," Craig said. Craig agreed with Sakbun's comments. "We have to stop politicizing basic rights for those who may not have been gifted with a silver spoon in their mouth," she said. "It seems like right now, if you're not corporate and you're not in that top 3% of America, your needs are not considered anymore. That's what it feels like." Mayor's fireside chat In his fireside chat keynote, Sakbun was asked a series of questions by Anne-Therese Ryan, executive director of the Terre Haute Human Relations Commission. Among them was how his military service shaped his views on human rights. Sakbun, who served as an officer in the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment and then transitioned to the Indiana National Guard, spoke of America's role as a leader of the free world in light of current national policy retreating from that role and ending foreign aid programs. "If the United States is truly the greatest nation in the world, if we really want to live by that statement, how can you just abandon all of these other nations?" Housing and economic issues in in Africa, the Mideast or Asia do impact the United States, he said. "There is a reason why we have international aid and international programs. Consequentially, when the United States doesn't involve itself overseas, in issues usually as it pertains to human rights, bad things happen," he said. He asked, "Who do you think steps in when the U.S. steps out," referring to countries that don't espouse democracy. In a student question, he was asked about school facility needs in Vigo County and how to address them, which drew a strong reaction from the Terre Haute mayor. Indiana communities that are growing prioritize education. "They chose to pay more taxes to build better schools," he said. Vigo County schools are strong academically, "but the harsh reality is you and the facilities you are in are not up to the standard of other, growing communities in Indiana," Sakbun said. The community will continue to struggle to grow and keep young families if it does not improve its high schools, he said. "This community has got to accept the fact they need to invest in their schools." More attendee comments Also attending the event was Ally McDonald, a North Vigo junior, who attended a presentation by ACLU of Indiana on Protecting Civil Rights in Indiana. "I'm concerned about everything," including LGBTQ rights, she said. "I'm a big feminist and always have been. I think everyone should have equal rights. I don't understand where all this hate in our society comes from. It just really hurts my soul sometimes." Abortion rights and birth control are also important to her, she said. Brook Rife, a South Vigo sophomore, also attended Human Rights Day. She believes many from different ethnic, cultural and racial backgrounds "undergo a lot of things that most people don't try to understand where they are coming from." People of all backgrounds "should be able to have rights as a human ... with housing and food, and even going to the hospital." Given everything happening at the state and federal level, Human Rights Day is an opportunity to reflect on the past "and events we went through to get where we are today — to give people more opportunities to better themselves and to learn from our past mistakes," Rife said.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tribune-Star Editorial: Community's biggest decision lies ahead — modernizing schools
The most consequential decision facing the Terre Haute and Vigo County community will be its investment in modernizing the local schools. A commitment must be made to provide the county's youngest residents 21st-century facilities in which to learn. By 2040, just 15 years from now, today's Vigo County School Corp. kindergartners will be in college, military service or the workforce. The county's existing high school structures would be nearly 70 or 80 years old by then, if still in use. West Vigo and especially Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South high schools already show their age and obsolescence. The average age of all VCSC schools is 43 years. None of the five middle schools were built in the 21st century. The newest elementary schools are now 21 years old. Gibraltar Design — an Indianapolis architectural firm studying the feasibility of options to address the school district's facility needs — says those needs are 'heavy' at North, South and West Vigo, as well as Woodrow Wilson and West Vigo middle schools, and DeVaney, Ouabache, Rio Grande and Sugar Grove elementaries. Gibraltar gave an update on the findings of its district-wide study, still ongoing, to the Vigo County School Board on Monday night. Some sort of action will have to occur. Vigo County kids deserve an education in an atmosphere that maximizes their education. Committing more funds into repairing the aging schools is becoming less cost effective. This latest VCSC facilities study, like the previous ones, will be valuable and merits broad public attention. The turf it covers is not smooth and easy. The Vigo County and Terre Haute population has remained static, and most significantly the family-age sector has not grown. As VCSC Superintendent Chris Himsel pointed out at Monday's meeting, the school district included 20,000 students in 1972. The K-through-12 enrollment's decline since then is expected to dwindle to about 12,500 in the next few years. Of course, the prime stumbling block — as always in any community — is funding. That element is complicated in the Hoosier state, given the property-tax caps put in place early in this century by the Legislature, limiting the traditional source of funds for school maintenance. The primary method for raising property-tax funds for a major school construction project is a public referendum, and the Indiana General Assembly is considering limits on when such referendums can occur. And, a 2022 facilities referendum on a $261-million project to rebuild and renovate the Vigo County high schools and West Vigo Middle School was resoundingly defeated by voters. That outcome raised questions about whether the county would ultimately end up with fewer than three high schools, once those buildings finally wore completely out. So, this new feasibility study will study options on how to handle upgrading the local schools at a time when enrollments are dropping. Meanwhile, a group of community elected officials and legislators are supporting a bill in the Legislature to create a local oversight board and facilitate the potential use of county funds for VCSC facility improvements. The aim would be to find funds for a facility upgrade without a tax increase or referendum. It is a tough needle to thread. But something must be done. As Himsel put it, the School Board and VCSC must 'make sure we meet the needs that our kids have and our teachers have, which is to upgrade facilities. We want to make sure our facilities enhance learning, and not detract from learning.' It is hard to tell what conclusions may be reached, but hard decisions are ahead.
