Dugger School Parents Have Hope For New Charter

Bil Shaw/WTIU

If a charter school opens in Dugger, the school would no longer be Union High School.

Updated 4:30 p.m.

After the Indiana Charter School Board denied schools in Dugger a charter May 1, members of the community say they might have secured a charter for this coming fall.

Earlier this week, parent Greg Ellis told the Sullivan Daily Times that Trine University would sponsor a new charter.

“Obviously there are a lot of details I can’t answer,” he continued. “Bottom line is we have a sponsor who has approved us to open (this) year.”

Ellis said one of the initial challenges for the school will be obtaining a building — DUCSC had planned to use the facility that housed DES/UHS.

The news prompted parents and members of the Dugger community to post on Facebook about how excited they were to receive a charter and how they needed to plan for opening a school this fall.

But David Wood, Dean of Trine University, says Trine is not sponsoring a charter school in Dugger and has never worked with the community to do so.

Kyle Foli, a parent involved in securing a charter, also issued the following statement:

“We are unable to provide any information about our plans to provide an educational option for community until we have met to discuss a number of details and options. Any other information is premature at this time.”

In December, the Northeast Community School Corporation voted to close Union High School and Dugger Elementary because of budget shortfalls.

Since then, parents have been seeking alternatives to sending their children to the school district’s other high school, which for many is more than 20 minutes away, or sending them to a high school in another district altogether.

As we reported, the last day of school for Dugger students and teachers was emotional, and the principal of Union High School said the community “was in mourning.”

Many in Dugger are concerned the town itself would suffer with the loss of the school.