A decision by the Kokomo-Center School Board to drop out of the Kokomo Area Special Education Cooperative caught leaders of other cooperative schools off guard Monday.

The special education cooperative, which formed in 1972, includes Kokomo-Center, Eastern, Tri-Central, Northwestern, Western, Taylor, Maconaquah and Tipton schools. Kokomo-Center has been the Local Education Agency, or the school providing the services and personnel for the cooperative members. The agency makes all the personnel choices, writes grants for funding, prepares the cooperative budget and makes the decisions.

Kokomo Superintendent Jeff Hauswald recommended terminating its membership as of June 30, 2012. He said after that, the corporation will operate as a single planning district, while contractually offering special education services to schools that choose to access those services.

“Our intention, as always, is to maintain excellence in all Kokomo programs, including programs for students with the most significant disabilities,” Hauswald said. “At the same time, we are confident that this move will improve operational efficiencies, accountability, instructional effectiveness and equitable access to resources.”

He said a March 2010 analysis of the special education cooperative by Indiana University Bloomington showed there was a need to improve governance, efficiency of use of resources and delivery of services. It also acknowledged that Kokomo-Center could stand on its own and provide services to its students without the cooperative.

“Even outside experts have said this is a good thing for Kokomo-Center,” he said.

Hauswald added the cooperative employees are Kokomo-Center employees, but could choose to take jobs with other districts.

Taylor Superintendent John Magers said the superintendents of the eight member schools had been talking about the organization’s governance, but “I didn’t know Kokomo was going to pull out. I’m surprised.”

Eastern Superintendent Tracy Caddell said there had been discussion of sharing in governance, and “seven out of the eight had reached agreement on governance. One corporation had not reached agreement on governance, which is fine.”

He said the other corporations likely will stay together as a cooperative, and one will become the new Local Education Agency. He said those seven schools have more than half of the special education cooperative population and funding.

“I think we’ll be fine. I’m certain that Kokomo and the remaining schools in the cooperative will be able to service kids and the quality won’t go down. Moving forward, it will be a different structure,” Caddell said.

Northwestern Superintendent Ryan Snoddy agreed.

“Regardless of the direction the cooperative goes, Northwestern School Corp. will do everything we can to provide the best services possible for our special education services.”

Snoddy, Caddell and Magers said most of their special education students were receiving services at their home schools, with few being transported to Kokomo for school.

Hauswald said parents with children in other districts may also request a transfer to Kokomo-Center Schools even if their school does not contract for services, but the parents would have to transport the child to the Kokomo school.

He said area school corporations have become more self-sufficient since the cooperative formed, and the governance system creates many duplications of services at the cooperative and local level. He said Kokomo will continue to offer services to other corporations by contract, “whenever it is still needed in order to do the right thing for students with disabilities.”

• Danielle Rush is the Kokomo Tribune education reporter. She can be reached at 765-454-8585 or danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com.