Dugger Union Comm Schools Start-up

Dugger Union Community Schools is a small hometown school in central Midwest Indiana.  The city limits population is about 900 people, but the townships extends as far south out from beyond the big Bear Run coal mine to the northern part of the county, and Indiana Rail Road hauls the coal all over the United States.  A year and a half ago, the parent school corporation voted to close the Dugger schools, saying it cost too much to run the school and they were going to consolidate.  We are Union.

The people of Dugger presented a brief to show how to save more money than the corporation was projecting to be in the red, but it was to no avail.  They voted 3-2 to close the school effective May 2014.  A group of individuals (parents, grandparents, and other supportive community) weren’t going to take no for an answer.  This school was representative of the smallest public school in Indiana to have a football team.  The little school was also a school that played old Hickory in the movie “Hoosiers”.  The community was approved by authorizer Grace College, who awarded the school a seven year charter on May 14, 2015, to re-open as a public, not-for-profit charter school in August 2015.  The length of this seven year charter is evidence of the strength of our charter application and the soundness of our financial plan over the next five years.   However, the reality is we have eight weeks till the beginning of school and there are specific start-up costs that we must incur  Salaries of principal, assistant principal, guidance counselor, teaching staff.  We are Union.

While opening the school is a blessing to the community, there is a huge variety of expenses that must be endured quickly.  State funding will be available in the fall, and the community is writing grants to help purchase items like the Public Announcement System that the corporation ripped out of the walls, the cafeteria equipment that was removed from the kitchen, and the aluminum bleachers that were removed from the school softball field.  Pretty well anything that wasn’t nailed down (as well as some items that were) have been removed.  We are Union.

The community is trying to raise $50,000 to help get the school off the ground until the State funding comes in.  We will purchase things like computers, textbooks, desks, and office supplies to get the school off the ground.  We are Union and we will succeed.  You can be a part of this journey, and support the school through your generous donation of any amount.  And when the next movie comes out about Dugger, you can say “I helped build it and they came!”  And, by the way, your donation is a tax deduction.  See our 501c3.  We are Union!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!