Gary Community School Corp. announced the appointees to its new board of trustees.
The state legislature passed a bill earlier in May to move the district back to full school board control by July 2024. The state took over the district in 2017 and called on MGT Consulting to provide emergency manager services.
“The appointment of the school board of trustees is another critical component to ending the district's distressed status,” said Dr. Mike Raisor, manager of the Gary Community School Corp., in a press release. “We look forward to working with this body to enact this transition, make decisions that will positively impact our students and encourage community involvement.”
The law requires the board to have five members, including three appointed by the Indiana Department of Education, one by the mayor of Gary and one by the Gary Common Council.
The appointees chosen as required by law are:
Indiana Department of Education appointees
- Michael Suggs, board chair, director of operations integration planning and external affairs at NIPSCO
- Dr. Danita Johnson, president and CEO at Edgewater Health
- Attorney Shontrai Irving, clinical associate professor of business law at Purdue University Northwest
City of Gary – Mayor Jerome Prince appointee
- Akilia McCain, speech language pathologist
Gary Common Council appointee:
- Dr. Vanessa Allen-McCloud, president and CEO of the Urban League of Northwest Indiana
