The School City of Hammond cried foul Wednesday when individuals passed out teacher recruitment flyers at Hammond Central High School, purportedly on behalf of a Gary charter school.
The district asked them to leave the campus saying they violated school policy for distributing flyers without review by Superintendent Scott Miller.
An official from the Thea Bowman Leadership Academy said the school is hosting a hiring event, but the distribution of flyers in Hammond was not approved by its school board.
Eve Gomez, president of the Drexel Board Foundation, which oversees the school, said the source of the flyers is unclear.
“TBLA condones neither message which was implied or conveyed regarding the School City of Hammond through those flyers, nor the manner in which they were distributed,” she said in an email.
“Representatives of TBLA have communicated to the School City of Hammond that TBLA is aware of the School City’s concerns and will take steps to ensure that a similar miscommunication does not occur in the future,” Gomez said.
The incident comes as Hammond is reeling from a financial crisis and is facing an impasse over contract talks with its teachers’ union with job cuts looming.
The handout announced a hiring event March 22 at the Thea Bowman Leadership Academy, 3401 W. 5th Ave., where teachers aren’t unionized.
It included a School City of Hammond logo and asked: “Are you a School City of Hammond teacher potentially looking for your next opportunity or not sure what’s next?”
It goes on to advise them to “Discover your greatness at TBLA!”
The flyer promised summer income opportunities, competitive compensation, student loan forgiveness, professional development, technology and year-round recognition and appreciation.
A statement from Miller said the distribution of flyers was in “flagrant violation” of a school board policy that calls for the superintendent to approve materials or activities “proposed by outside political or commercial sources…”
The policy further states: “no such approval shall have the primary purpose of advancing the name, product, or special interest of the proposing group.”
The release from Miller added the use of the district’s logo was a trademark violation.
Last week, Hammond officials said the continued impasse in collective bargaining talks with the Hammond Teachers Federation has complicated and delayed other cost-cutting measures needed to meet a state-ordered corrective action plan to trim its budget deficit made more dire by the defeat of an operating referendum last year.
GlenEva Dunham, president of the Indiana Teachers Federation and the Gary Teachers Union, wasn’t surprised flyers popped up in Hammond.
“Every day Hammond is making headlines regarding cuts and they can’t decide on them until the contract is settled,” she said.
Competition for school enrollment is not unusual since it’s tied to state funding.
When the Gary Community School Corp. fell under state control because of shaky finances, Dunham said the School City of Hammond advertised the benefits of its nearby district on billboards in Gary. Other neighboring districts have done so also in an attempt to gain new enrollment, she said.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
