Melton, 031618 INAGO, AGO 2018-3

• Case Date: March 16, 2018
• Court: Indiana

The Honorable Eddie Melton AGO 2018-3 No. 2018-3 Indiana Attorney General Opinion State of Indiana Office of the Attorney General March 16, 2018          The Honorable Eddie Melton          The Honorable Lonnie Randolph          Indiana State Senate          The Honorable Charlie Brown          The Honorable Earl Harris, Jr.          The Honorable Vernon Smith          Indiana House of Representatives          200 W. Washington Street          Indianapolis, IN 46204          RE: Authority to Fill Vacancy on Board of School Trustees of the Gary Community School Corporation and Appoint President          Dear Senators Melton and Randolph, and Representatives Brown, Harris, and Smith:          The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) received your request for an official opinion. In your letter, you raised the following issue:

Is the Emergency Manager authorized to fill a vacancy on the Board of School Trustees for the Gary Community School Corporation and appoint who shall serve as president of said Board?

         BRIEF ANSWER          The Emergency Manager does not have the statutory authority to fill a vacancy on the Board of School Trustees of the Gary Community School Corporation or appoint the president of said Board.          ANALYSIS          The Gary Community School Corporation ("GCSC") is heavily in debt. It is a "distressed political subdivision" under Ind. Code § 6-1.1-20.3-2. See also lnd. Code § 6-1.1-20.3-6.5. The legislature, through P.L. 241-2017, granted authority to the Distressed Unit Appeal Board (DUAB) to place GCSC under a fiscal management board. See Ind. Code § 6-1.1-20.3 et seq. DUAB has appointed several specialists, including an "emergency manager."^[1]          The legislature made specific findings regarding GCSC at Ind. Code § 6-1.1-20.3-6.8. The code provision states that "the governing body of the school corporation may not meet more often than once each month." Ind. Code § 6-U-20.3-6.8(d). The "governing body" of GCSC is the Board of School Trustees. Ind. Code § 20-23-12-3.          While GCSC is a "distressed political subdivision," the Emergency Manager has considerable authority "related to financial and academic matters of the school corporation," and can act without approval of the governing body. Ind. Code § 6-1.1-20.3-6.8(e)(2). The Emergency Manager is obliged to "consult with and...