UpbeatA judge just saved a tiny rural school district the state tried to dissolve inside a tax bill
Union School Corporation in Modoc, Indiana, is one building, 259 in-person students and a community that refused to disappear. Lawmakers had slipped the district's dissolution into a 2025 property-tax bill in its final weeks, with no public hearing; Governor Mike Braun signed it. The district sued — and this week a Randolph County judge struck down the closure provision, ruling for the district without a trial. 'I feel like I can breathe again,' said board member Christa Ellis. Students and funding will no longer be split between two neighbouring districts after 2026-27; the school stays, because its community used the courts exactly as they are meant to be used.
The upbeat factora one-building school, a skipped public hearing, and a judge who said the rules still apply.
SDG 4 · Quality education — Mechanism: legal ruling
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