Hammond Considers 3 School Closures, Cutting 130 Positions

Photo courtesy of Lafayette Elementary School

School City of Hammond Superintendent Scott Miller is lobbying for the closure of 3 schools, as well as cutting more than 130 positions by next year. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report the plan is in response to a projected $10.2 million deficit in the district.

According to the publication, the Hammond School Board will vote on Miller’s recommendations in a public meeting next Tuesday. The schools Miller has recommended close are Columbia Elementary and Lafayette Elementary as well as Miller School, which provides Hammond’s Head Start and special education pre-K programs.

The city closed school enrollment in 2017, and according to the publication, Hammond administrators say the push for closings is the result of a state funding formula and the decrease of nearly 545 students this school year.

Miller’s proposal and a bid to reopen enrollment in Hammond may help the situation, however Miller told the Times 130 to 150 positions must be cut to keep the school city’s operations fund "in the black."

“I believe that students, and especially our students in Hammond, deserve the same opportunities of the students anywhere else in the state and in the country,” Miller said. “When we’re faced with difficult conversations like this, it’s hard to say the students come out on top.”

Read the full story from The Times of Northwest Indiana by clicking here.