This story was originally published on WFYI
By RACHEL FRADETTE
The Union School Corporation is suing the state to stop a new law that would dissolve the district in 2027.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday, Union district officials argue that state lawmakers violated several provisions of the Indiana Constitution when they added language to a property tax bill that mandates the district’s closure. The measure, included in Senate Enrolled Act 1, was passed in the final weeks of the 2025 legislative session with no public hearing.
District leaders claim the law is “unlawful and unworkable” and creates unsafe conditions for students and staff.
The state lawmakers’ decision has caused a stir in the rural community of Modoc, where Union is based. Parents and educators confronted local lawmakers during an April meeting to push back on the decision and question why no one knew about it until the legislative session’s end.
The lawsuit names the State of Indiana, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, and Secretary of Education Katie Jenner as defendants. The civil lawsuit was filed by Muncie-based Delk McNally in Randolph County Superior Court.
Braun and Jenner could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday. In an earlier statement, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Education said the agency will work with the district to prioritize students’ needs.
The law orders Union to cease operations by July 1, 2027. But district leaders say a separate clause that bars the district from entering into any new obligations after July 1, 2025 — two years before the dissolution date — would make it impossible to function in the interim.
That means Union would be unable to hire new teachers and staff, provide lunch, obtain liability insurance, or purchase supplies for the 2025–26 school year.
“There will be no teachers, no textbooks, and no fire or safety monitoring. Students will be forced to miss homecoming, prom, and even athletic events, just as they did in 2020,” reads the lawsuit. “Union Schools will not even be able to contract with the Randolph County Sheriff for its school resource officers.”
The lawsuit calls this rule “unlawful and unworkable.” Union alleges that it will be under a “freeze” due to the rule, preventing participation in collective bargaining negotiations, hiring teachers, or entering food service contracts.
Union Schools is in the state’s East Central region, where it educates more than 290 students in person and about 7,500 through virtual programs.
The law requires students and funds to be split between two neighboring school districts — Blue River Valley Schools in Henry County and Monroe Central Schools in Randolph County.
Both districts will also receive a cut of Union’s property tax revenue.
But Republicans who supported the dissolution have offered little explanation about why they pushed for the closure so quickly — or what will happen to the virtual schools Union operates in partnership with the company Stride Inc., formerly known as K12, a national online education provider.
Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City) wrote the amendment to have Union closed, but he said it was because of the district’s test scores and families choosing to leave for other options.
Galen Mast, Union’s superintendent, told WFYI the lawsuit came “regretfully,” and district leaders hope that this won’t reach the courts but instead result in a compromise.
“None of this was our choice,” Mast said. “It was done to us, not with us or for us.”
Union’s last day of school for the current academic year is May 22.
