GARY, Ind. (AP): A state-hired consultant says the Gary school district faces more staffing cuts and possible school closings as it tries to emerge from estimated debts of at least $75 million.
The Indiana State Board of Finance last week approved a $15 million interest-free loan to help the district pay overdue bills.
Financial specialist Jack Martin says the district's 15 schools average being half-occupied and that the students in its three high schools could fit into a single building. District officials have closed more than half its schools since 2000, but Martin says many parents have sent their children to charter schools after neighborhood schools closed.
The district in the crime-troubled city has seen its enrollment drop from about 16,000 students a decade ago to around 6,000 this fall.
