Youth Leadership Academy Pitched to Montpelier — $25,000 Annual Program for County Students

From the Montpelier City Council and Redevelopment Commission meetings on July 6, 2026

Warren Brown, Blackford County Economic Development Corporation Director, presented a proposal for a Youth Leadership Academy to serve 20 to 30 10th and 11th grade students per year. The program, to be run by the Schaefer Leadership Academy out of Muncie, would provide full school-year training on Monday nights, approximately 7 to 9 PM.

Students would identify a community problem in the first semester and develop an execution plan in the second semester. The total cost is $25,000 per school year, paid in two semester installments. A teacher would receive a stipend similar to an athletic coach.

Hartford City's Redevelopment Commission has already committed $5,000. The county council is reviewing the request. Brown asked both the Montpelier City Council and the Montpelier Redevelopment Commission to consider sustainable annual funding. Both bodies tabled the request to their August meetings.

Brown framed the program as a "brain drain" countermeasure — teaching soft skills and encouraging young people to stay in Blackford County.

Source: Meeting transcript — Montpelier - City Council Meeting - July 06, 2026; Meeting transcript — Montpelier - Redevelopment Meeting - July 06, 2026

Some information may be inaccurate due to video audio quality.