Blackford County Schools Votes to Leave Special Education Co-op

From the BCS School Board meeting on June 16, 2026

Blackford County Schools Board of Education voted 3-0 Monday to formally withdraw from the Delaware-Blackford Special Education Cooperative, which has been operated through Muncie Community Schools. The withdrawal requires one year's notice, meaning BCS will remain in the co-op for the 2026-27 school year. A new interlocal agreement is being formed with other rural districts, with a meeting planned for July to continue drafting terms. The goal is to hire a director five to six months in advance and have the new group fully operational by July 1, 2027. The superintendent cited two primary reasons for leaving. First, the co-op director also served as the director of Muncie Community Schools' Special Education Department, creating what he called a "problematic" structural conflict where co-op work was "Muncie Community Schools driven" rather than serving all member districts equally. He added that the Muncie staff "have been good partners." Second, costs have increased sharply. When the co-op stopped providing occupational therapy services roughly two years ago, BCS was forced to hire Mahaffy Services, a staffing agency, driving annual OT costs from approximately $60,000 to nearly $140,000. The new interlocal will cover shared physical therapy, occupational therapy, and low-incidence licensure sharing for deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and low vision services. Only three board members were present for voting throughout the meeting.

Source: BCS School Board Meeting, June 16, 2026

Some information may be inaccurate due to video audio quality.