VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — This year, Senator Greg Goode urged the state to pass a new law that allowed county councils to be more involved and help fund school system needs.
Vigo County’s School Board hoped to use the law and get the Vigo County Council on board with their massive consolidation and school improvement plan.
“The process leading up to the bill that I had introduced and ultimately got across the finish line began about a year ago”, Goode said. “We were able to seek a lot of input and I felt really, really good with where we landed at the statehouse.”
However, with a 4-3 vote on Tuesday night, the Vigo County Council passed an ordinance preventing the county from participating in school corporation decisions, but with questions looming about the legality of that vote, the battle is not over yet.
“There’s no expiration date”, Goode said. “If the current county council members and their partners within the community, such as the commissioners, the school corporation, want to exercise the option of utilizing this board, they can do that now. If they would rather wait and future councils or future elected officials want to be able to exercise and execute this option, they can do that.”
Goode said the legislation was meant to give the Vigo County School Corporation what it needed.
“We need to always continue to find ways to work collaboratively, in a bi-partisan way, with families, with elected officials, with teachers and school administrators to address the school facilities issue”, Goode said. “That’s an issue that’s not going to go away.”
Goode added that he wants to continue his progress.
“We worked it real hard over at the statehouse and the resounding message back to Vigo County is that the Indiana General Assembly and the state of Indiana also believe in Vigo County”, Goode said. “That’s why we were able to get bi-partisan support with this legislation and push it across the finish line.”
The Vigo County Council’s next regular meeting is on November 11th.
