Debbie Blank
Batesville citizens, teachers and administrators and consultants worked together to arrive at a plan to update the four Batesville Community School Corp. buildings.
“An intense study of our current needs was conducted over a 12-month period of time,” said superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts. “Community input sessions were provided on six different occasions .... We believe the project that is proposed addresses the educational needs that exist and the desires of our community as a whole.”
At each school, what would this project give students that they don’t have now? Roberts reported Batesville Primary School students would get “increased classroom space so that full-day kindergarten can become a reality.” Batesville Intermediate School children would see extra classrooms as well “to address capacity issues, and a full-service cafeteria.” Now food is prepared at Batesville Middle School and shuttled over to BIS.
Batesville Middle School students would notice “a more organized classroom structure with music classrooms being moved away from general classrooms.”
Expanded art classrooms and a larger media center at Batesville High School would “enhance our students' fine arts and research/technology opportunities,” he said.
“There are also options for improving the technical classroom spaces, as well as providing renovated or additional community-related spaces with improvements to the auditorium” and potentially a new swimming pool and other physical education spaces. One or more of these options would only be realized if money remains after the academic upgrades.
If the referendum does not pass and student enrollment continues to climb at 1 percent or so annually, “we would simply run out of space,” the superintendent noted. “As we look to add full-day kindergarten, there is currently no space available at BPS, regardless of continued growth. We are already using every classroom at BIS and we will grow by nearly 40 students next year.”
If extra classrooms are not available, “then the only way to address the problem would be increasing the student-to-teacher ratio.”
Recent renovations at BMS and BHS allowed for some growth so those buildings would not feel overcrowding as soon.
If schools here are not improved, students’ futures may be in jeopardy. “I believe we would continue to achieve at a high rate,” Roberts said. “However, I don’t believe we would be able to maximize our students’ potentials.
“Our kids are competing against the world's kids in an ever-increasing global economy. They aren't competing against just Greensburg, East Central or Carmel” students. “They are competing with prep schools in the East, technology rich schools in the West and intense education of kids in Japan and India. It is our responsibility to prepare them to succeed.”
He emphasized, “Our continued investment in our students is imperative.”
While the superintendent lists the academic reasons why an expansion and renovation are needed, two business leaders believe the project makes economic sense as well – for the city as a whole and individual property owners.
Mayor Rick Fledderman observed, “Whenever businesses or families look at relocating, the quality of life in a community is one thing they take into account. Education plays a big part in the quality of life ...”
He continued, “I support the referendum .... I am proud of the reputation and quality of education put forth by the Batesville Community School Corp. I see the passage of the referendum as a means to maintain this quality as well as improve it.”
Bob Koester, Tudor Square Realty managing broker/owner, said great schools make a difference to home buyers. “When I tour people around the community to try to sell them on Batesville, they are very impressed with our BCSC achievements and the small classrooms. This has even swayed their decision to come to the community.”
If the referendum doesn’t pass and students are crammed into classrooms, lessening BCSC’s reputation, “over time it would impact the values,” Koester maintained. If families decide not to move here and there is a glut of properties on the market, “homes would not have the appreciation that they would have.”
He, too, is in favor of the referendum. “As a business owner and caring for our community, I think it is important for our community to bring our schools up to levels that we feel are appropriate for the 21st century.”
