GARY, Ind. (AP) _ A divided Indiana State Board of Education has decided to close a failing 700-student Gary middle school.
The board voted 6-4 Thursday to close the Dunbar-Pulaski Academic and Career Academy. The Times reports state schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz was among the four members opposing the closing.
Tony Walker, northwest Indiana's representative on the board, made the motion to close the school. He says Dunbar-Pulaski is dilapidated and its seventh- and eighth-graders will have better options at other schools. Dunbar-Pulaski is in its sixth year as a failing school.
Gary Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt argued that she believes the school corporation could still operate the school despite its deficit and state budget cuts.
However, Walker said the school corporation has an outstanding $5.4 million utility bill.
