Bill to give Ball State control of Muncie schools dies in Indiana Legislature

INDIANAPOLIS — An adventurous Republican-sponsored plan for Ball State University to take over governance of Muncie Community Schools went down in flames at the Legislature on Wednesday night, the final day of the 2018 legislative session.

The controversial House Bill 1315 was one of the final pieces of legislation scheduled to be heard in both chambers but did not make it to either floor before the midnight deadline.

Gov. Eric Holcomb issued an order to extend the session until 1 a.m. but Senate President Pro Tem David Long and House Speaker Brian Bosma adjourned anyway.

"I'm no happier than anyone else about this," Long said. " … I suggest we close up shop and not hear 1315 and move on. Things melted down on the other side as well."

He was uncertain about the legalities of proceeding past midnight.

Long went on to say "let's all accept the fact this was a rough finish," "this was not pretty sausage-making here at the end, no question about it," "take this as a lesson learned," and "you can't wait until the last minute and expect these things to get passed."

Moments earlier, Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, called extending the session past midnight "totally out of order" and suggested the Republican super-majority might as well just "stop the clock like in the old days. This is not right."

►JEFF WARD: Indiana lawmakers fail Muncie Schools, Ball State with no vote on HB 1315

►BSU REACTION: Death of HB 1315 catches Ball State President Mearns by surprise

►IN HIS WORDS:  Ball State President Mearns issues statement on HB 1315

►RELATED: Legislature ends in chaos, finger-pointing and the unintentional death of several bills

The House Rules Committee tried to rush HB 1315 and several other bills to the floor as the clock ticked toward midnight. "This looks terrible," commented Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson. Another Democratic lawmaker said, "This is worse than the sausage factory."

On the House floor, Speaker Bosma also called it quits despite the governor's effort to extend the session. "We didn't get them done," he said of HB 1315 and the few other remaining bills scheduled to be voted on. "But the republic will survive. It's alright. We'll be back next year."

To add to the chaos, it was announced during the Rules Committee minutes before midnight that a signed copy of the HB 1315 conference committee report could not be located.

Rep. Melanie Wright, D-Yorktown, told The Star Press, "I don't even know what just happened. That was nuts … These were critical bills and the clock ran out."

She said the Legislature could be called back for a special session, "but I don't know how good that's going to look in an election year. They can't get it done during the regular session."

The Muncie  school district has been in failing financial health for years, although academically it is C rated by the state.

Ball State acknowledged that success would not have been guaranteed by its takeover of the school district but said its future "is intertwined with the future of a vibrant Muncie, which  is dependent on the quality of its public schools."

HB 1315, a wide-ranging school corporation financial management bill, included a section calling for Ball State to govern the Muncie school district by appointing a new school board.

Stricken from the bill this week were two Senate amendments: one requiring Ball State to "strive to ensure" that the members appointed to the new school board "reflect the geographical and socioeconomic composition of the school district;" and one calling for two members of the new seven-member school board to be elected by Muncie voters.

The bill's author, Rep. Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, dissented from those amendments, holding up passage of the legislation while a conference committee tried to resolve the differences.

The Senate spent much of Wednesday afternoon bidding farewell and honoring retiring members, including Doug Eckerty, R-Yorktown, and Senate President Pro Tem Long. He said after midnight that the Senate will probably be criticized for adjourning early on Tuesday.

Over in the House, part of the last day of the session also was spent on farewell speeches.

HB 1315 included provisions allowing the state board of finance to make an interest-free loan to the Muncie school district; requiring Ball State to appoint at least two school board members who live in Muncie; and requiring the university to appoint one school board member from a list of three candidates nominated by Muncie City Council and another school board member from a list of three candidates nominated by the mayor.

Also under the legislation, the current five-member elected school board would have become an advisory board to the school board appointed by Ball State.

Now, the Muncie school district will continue to be operated by a state-appointed emergency management firm. The firm is in charge of both academics and finances, leaving the school board powerless.

Seth Slabaugh is an education reporter at The Star Press who can be reached at (765) 213-5834 or seths@muncie.gannett.com.