Brown: Cronk has turned down millions of dollars on behalf of Anderson schools

Jun. 2—ANDERSON — Anderson Community Schools could be leaving tens of millions of dollars from the state on the table, according to one community leader.

Lindsay Brown, a frequent community critic of the district, said ACS Superintendent Joe Cronk has refused to take the first step toward what could be $64 million over four years by partnering with the community on a $1.8 million grant.

"It was basically thinking outside the box to improve the schools with some money behind it," Brown said. "The whole key to this is it's supposed to be a partnership between the community and ACS."

But Cronk rejected the proposal time and again without providing a solid reason, Brown said.

Cronk did not return calls Wednesday for comment.

After working behind the scenes for months with district administrators, including Cronk, Brown said it's now time to let the public know what the district is turning down. He is hosting a Community Conversation on Education in Anderson at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 2, at the Anderson Impact Center, 630 Nichol Ave.

"I am letting the community know that the school system, which we know has been hurting financially, is turning away money," he said. "I would like the people to hear exactly what it can be before they let one person make a decision for them that could be a better decision."

Brown was approached in early 2021 by officials from the Indiana Department of Education. They said ACS appeared to be an ideal candidate for the program in which some schools would be managed by a community group while remaining under the control of a school board.

Brown, who doesn't have children in the district but pays taxes on properties there, rose as a major voice starting in 2020 as ACS sought a new permanent superintendent.

He and other members of the Black community insisted on a search process that would allow for the selection of a qualified instructional leader who would represent the needs of all students. This was especially urgent, they said, because of an election that had turned the school board all white.

The process of Brown's current efforts starts with the agreement of a superintendent, who then recommends the program to the school board. The district then works with a community committee to draw up a plan under a $1.8 million IDOE community collaboration grant.

The district would be eligible to receive as much as $4 million each for four schools for each of four years. The money could be put to a variety of uses, including teacher salaries and contractors to administer special programs at schools with the greatest need for improvement, Brown said.

"We could bring STEM into all of our elementary classrooms," he said of science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, which are considered increasingly important in the workplace.

Similar grants have been used in South Bend, where it was decided a takeover of some buildings was necessary. But communities have the ability to design their programs to meet their specific needs, Brown stressed.

"Their first mindset is that we're trying to take over these schools. But we're not trying to take over these schools. We want to draw the community more into the schools," he said. "The school corporation always would have the final say-so."

His preliminary proposal would involve Anderson, Edgewood and Erskine elementary schools and Anderson Intermediate School. The intent would be to work primarily with students on the Westside.

"We want to start young," he said.

The proposal also has met with some resistance from the Anderson Federation of Teachers, Brown said.

"I've heard so many false scenarios, it's crazy," he said. "This is not to bust the union. This actually could help the union get the pay they want for teachers."

His efforts to jump-start the grant process was an olive branch to ACS, Brown said.

"Instead of Lindsay Brown always pointing out all the things that are wrong with our school system, how about I do something that makes things right? And most solutions need funds."

Follow Rebecca R. Bibbs on Twitter at @RebeccaB_THB, or call 765-640-4883.