The Richmond Community School Committee on Nov. 12 held a public hearing and voted unanimously to find three properties are needed for Head Start and Early Head Start operations and that the proposed rents are fair and reasonable.

Karen Scalf, who summarized the leases for the board, said the three agreements are 5-year terms retroactive to Oct. 1, 2025 — the date Richmond Community Schools (RCS) was awarded the Head Start grant — and include termination language tied to federal funding. "If RCS loses the federal Head Start grant, or if year-over-year federal funding falls by 7.5% or more, that could cause early termination," Scalf said in the presentation.

Scalf told the board the leases include options to renew for two additional two-year periods, allow rental adjustments based on CPI indexing, require RCS to pay utilities and routine maintenance up to $7,500 per lease year, and assign major repairs of $7,500 or more to the landlord.

The board identified the three properties in the presentation as: 1322 Northwest 5th Street (known in the presentation as the Mableton building), monthly rent $7,000; 1900 South L Street (Early Head Start), monthly rent $3,150; and 1845 West Main Street (administration site), monthly rent $10,000. Scalf said the leases and full terms are posted on the district website.

Board discussion touched on federal funding risk. One trustee noted national policy proposals that have targeted Head Start funding and said the leases include protections to help the district adjust operations if funding were reduced. "We built in enough protections that if it were to happen, even at the 7.5% level, we could make adjustments in our operations," a board member said during discussion.

After hearing no public comment, the board approved two formal motions: (1) to find the facilities necessary for Head Start operations and to deem the rents reasonable, and (2) to direct administration to publish legal notice of lease execution under Indiana Code 5-3-4, which begins a 30-day remonstrance opportunity. Both motions passed 6–0 on roll call.

The motions require the board president and secretary to sign the leases and commit the district to making payments to landlords pending any successful remonstrance, officials said. The board also noted that RCS retains some flexibility to transfer programming to its own facilities if they become available.

Next steps include publication of the legal notice as required by state law and execution of the leases by district officers pending the remonstrance period.