When Rich Carlucci was Plainfield’s town manager, he’d often receive calls about school-related matters from citizens who didn’t realize town government has nothing to do with running schools in Indiana. If the call’s purpose was to pay a compliment about something the schools did, Rich would happily and graciously accept it, then hang up. When the call involved a complaint, he politely referred the caller to Plainfield’s superintendent of schools.
When you mention Plainfield, you might be talking about the town itself or its school district. Like many people, you assume the two are essentially interchangeable. They’re both “the government,” right? But they’re actually two entirely separate and distinct legal entities that just happen to share a name. Neither has the power to control the other. They have different boundaries, too. Plainfield Schools serves all of Guilford Township and nothing more. Plainfield Town covers most (but not all) of Guilford Township, along with substantial chunks of Washington and Liberty Townships.
When Plainfield Town annexed those parts of Washington and Liberty, some residents assumed their kids would attend Plainfield Schools because their homes were now in Plainfield, but they quickly discovered that wasn’t the case. Kids in the Washington Township part of Plainfield Town attend Avon Schools, while those in the Liberty Township part of Plainfield Town attend Mill Creek Schools. Confused? I’ll explain why it’s not as illogical as it seems in a future column.
Each type of governmental unit in Indiana has specific responsibilities and funding sources that have been established in state law. The laws are very clear about the limits of what those units can do. A school district can’t build a public highway. A town council member can’t tell a school superintendent what to do. Your township trustee can’t overrule the county sheriff. The fire department can’t turn an empty lot into a public park.
Laws also spell out the acceptable sources of funding and how each government unit can use them. For example, school districts can’t use property tax dollars to pay teacher salaries and benefits (unless the voters approved a referendum for that purpose), because instructional money comes from state funding. Towns can’t transfer tax revenues from one source to pay for something associated with another. The local tax on our county’s hotels and motels can’t be used to repair roads.
It’s confusing and it can be frustrating. Homeowners call Town Hall to complain about stoplight timing, and the friendly voice at the other end of the phone explains they need to talk to someone at the Indiana Department of Transportation. Why can’t the town just address the issue? Because the law says it’s not their legal responsibility. And no matter how much your local officials may wish they had the freedom to address your issue on their own, they just can’t do it.