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player ready...Seven firms vying to be the emergency manager of the Gary Community School Corp. pledged Thursday evening to implement plans to improve academics and help the district tackle its massive debt.
Each firm made the case for their selection during a Distressed Unit Appeals Board session at the Wirt-Emerson Visual and Performing Arts High Ability Academy.
Originally, 13 candidates had applied for the job this summer, said DUAB chairman Micah Vincent. The board met in closed session at Indiana University Northwest in Gary earlier in the day to interview candidates.
It expects to choose a firm to run Gary schools by late July, commissioner Courtney Schaafsma said after the meeting. Gary students will return for the first day of school on Aug. 17.
Many of the presenting firms touted members with Gary roots or professional ties. Each made 15-minute presentations. No public comments were allowed, although DUAB did accept written notes following the meeting.
Firms presenting their ideas for the district included:
*MGT Consulting Group — The Tallahassee, Fla.-based firm would work to start school smoothly and reach out to the Gary community.
*Gatekeeper Accounting Services, LLC — Accountant and Gary native Sheleita Miller said she would use her experience to develop a financial plan for the district. She also invited longtime employees and parents to reach out to her personally.
*The Robert Bobb Group — A Washington, D.C.-based firm led by Robert Bobb, who was the state-appointed emergency manager for Detroit schools from 2011 to 2014. Its bid is being joined by Indianapolis-based Phalen Leadership Academies that manages the charter for Gary’s Thea Bowman Leadership Academy.
*The Bronner Group — The Chicago-based firm would select DuPage (Illinois) County Board Member Paul Fichtner as emergency manager. The group pledged to set up plans for finances, staffing, educational services, and busing within 45 days and facilities and a non-education services plan within 60 days.
Its academic leadership would also include Paul Vallas, a former head of Chicago Public Schools, former candidate for Illinois Lt. Governor and former member of the Chicago State University board.
*Comer Capital Group — A Jackson, Miss.-based financial consulting firm led by Gary Horace Mann alum Brandon Comer. In March, he helped the district secure a $1.5 million loan — one of several it has taken in recent months to secure the cash to pay employees. His mother previously worked as a teacher in Gary for over three decades.
*Martin, Arrington, Desai & Meyers — A Michigan-based group led by Jack Martin — a former USDOE official and Detroit schools emergency manager. He has worked as the Gary district’s state-mandated financial consultant since 2015. Martin and the school board have often been at odds over recommended budget cuts that impacted staff and programs.
*Crowe Horwath — a Chicago-based public accounting firm specializing in audits, taxes, risk and performance, according to its website.
The yet-to-be-named emergency manager will have fiscal and academic responsibility over the school district with $110 million of debt and challenged by a 42-percent property tax collection rate and shrinking enrollment base.
This year, the district received the state’s only F-rating, but individual elementary schools like Banneker and McCullough have received excellent ratings for several years.
Financial adviser Martin told the audience he did not expect further layoffs or building closures before the next school year. The district was at the point where he would not have to approach DUAB for loans to make payroll, he said.
Last month, the school board voted to layoff 44 teachers. Gary Teachers Union President GlenEva Dunham said after the meeting none so far had been called back to work.
Dunham said she hoped state-appointed leadership would be responsive and reach out to rank-and-file teachers and employees.
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said before the meeting on Thursday that she would like to see an emergency manager develop a plan for the district’s nearly two dozen vacant public schools.
She also praised Purdue University Northwest Chancellor Thomas Keon’s appointment to Gary’s fiscal management board this week. By law, the volunteer board will provide advice to the prospective emergency manager.
Other members are former legislator Earline Rogers, Calumet Township Trustee Clorius Lay and Lee Ann Kwiatkowski, Indiana State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick’s chief of staff.
“He understands the importance of education. As someone who sees young people at Purdue, he knows what they need to succeed,” Freeman-Wilson said. “He understands how important public schools are in our community.”
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Last month, a similar vetting process for emergency manager candidates happened in Muncie where Crowe Horwath and Administrator Assistance presented during a public meeting on June 15.
After closed interviews, DUAB selected Administrator Assistance — a consulting firm of former superintendents, business managers and teachers, including a former Muncie Superintendent — later that month.
Four firms, including the Robert Bobb Group and Crowe Horwath, applied for the Muncie position.
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