At least three bills have been filed in the General Assembly that threaten the future of the Gary Community School Corp. So far, none of the bills has moved forward, but stakeholders are paying close attention to their status. House Bill 1136 would dissolve the Gary district along with four others and turn their schools into charters because less than 50% of students in those districts’ boundaries attend school in the districts. House Bill 1501 would establish a three-year pilot program and create two boards to manage transportation and facilities for the same five districts, beginning in 2026. The bill would remove Gary’s power over transportation and facilities, placing authority in two new non-elected boards. It’s authored by state Rep. Robert Behning, the Republican chairman of the House Education Committee where the bill was assigned. The bill allows the two boards to make transportation and facilities available for sharing with charter schools and would also allow access for students in private schools. The impacted districts would include: the Gary Community School Corporation, Indianapolis Public Schools, Union School Corporation, Tri-Township Consolidated School Corporation and Cannelton City Schools. School district officials would have no say over who serves on the two created boards. After the three-year pilot ends, the bill calls for the boards to take over the facilities and transportation assets permanently. By 2029, they gain the authority to levy property taxes for facilities and transportation. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 513 calls for schools to share revenue from their operations fund with charter schools. The bill would exempt Gary until 2027 because of its previous state distressed status. Once the exemption period is over, the bill could hamper Gary’s operations fund, if it’s required to share revenue with nine charter schools. Traditional districts, like Gary, receive local property tax funding and can hold referendums to seek more money from taxpayers. Charter schools don’t receive property taxes and their leaders have decried the disparity in funding. They do receive federal funding and state funding, similar to traditional schools. However, a recent law requires districts to share a portion of referendum funding with charter schools that have students enrolled within a district’s boundaries. Indiana has about 120 charters, including nine in Gary. State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, an educator and member of the House Education Committee, said he opposes the bills because they’re detrimental to traditional public schools, especially Gary as it’s trying to regain its footing after seven years of state control. “This movement toward favoritism to charter and voucher schools is not going to go away as long as Republicans are in charge,” he said. Smith said many charter schools aren’t locally owned and school board members don’t have to live in the school’s geographic boundary. “They have no accountability to the parents and students they serve,” he said. The legislature established charters two decades ago as public schools, typically operated by nonprofit unelected boards that are overseen by charter authorizers such as the Indiana State Charter School Board and colleges and universities. Indiana State School Boards Association Executive Director Terry Spradlin said the ISBA opposes all three bills and will offer more insight if any of the bills move forward. “I would argue that charter schools aren’t the solution,” he said, saying many don’t perform as well as traditional schools. He cited state graduation rate data from 2024 showing the rate for traditional high schools at 92% versus 58% for charters. Smith said local lawmakers met with state Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, who authored House Bill 1136 and he offered to come to Gary and meet with its interested citizens. A spokeswoman for the Gary schools declined comment, saying officials are trying to get more clarity on the impact to Gary schools. Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Indiana State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, addresses the audience during a kick off event by the ECIER Foundation at the Innsbrook Country Club in Merrillville on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. He opposes three bills that could strip local control of the Gary schools. (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)