The Pike Township school board released what it described as survey results in a letter sent to families Wednesday alleging “serious challenges to the District’s culture and climate.”
Results from the survey presented in the letter showed 93% of respondents said that the leadership style most prevalent in the district was “autocratic/dictatorial/authoritarian.”
“The Board does not, and will not, condone a culture of fear, mistrust, or lack of transparency at any level within the District,” the letter said. “The Board expects, and requires, that all staff, families, and community members are treated with respect and dignity by all representatives of MSD Pike.”
The letter detailed that 50% of respondents said they did not feel valued and respected at work, while another 10% said they could not or would not offer an opinion.
A group of survey participants also reported that “they worked under constant fear of making mistakes or failing, were micromanaged, and were called out and belittled in front of their peers,” the letter said.
The board also said that it received “direct complaints from staff members of bullying, hostility, retaliation, and toxicity from senior leadership.” The letter does not identify “senior leadership.”
None of the seven Pike Township School Board members returned WFYI’s questions or request for comment as of Wednesday evening. The board is charged with overseeing district policies, goal setting and financial decisions. It also hires and oversee the superintendent.
The northwest Marion County district enrolls around 10,640 students — about 60% are Black and 27% are Hispanic.
Unknown methodology
The board also does not say how many employees were surveyed, who was eligible to participate, or how many people actually responded. These details would determine how representative the survey results are.
The district reported employing 737 teachers and 19 non-teaching, district-level administrators in 2025, according to its collective bargaining report. But the letter does not specify whether the survey went to all of them, or other staff such as bus drivers, food-service workers or building-level administrators like principals.
The board commissioned this “confidential climate survey” and said that it was conducted by an outside consultant “with significant experience as a superintendent and a deep understanding of the pressures and challenges faced by senior school leadership.” The consultant is not named in the letter.
The board said in the letter that after it heard “serious concerns about the treatment of employees and others within the district” last August, it decided to commission the climate survey.
The board said in the letter that the results of the climate survey were “shocking and distressing.”
“Because culture is at the heart of everything the District does and stands for, these are not minor concerns,” the letter said. “Further, despite direct and repeated efforts by the Board to work collaboratively for improvement, it has not been met with a reciprocal response.”
The letter also said that board members themselves have directly observed “conduct involving false accusations against staff, misinformation maintained against employees and potential employees, inappropriate favoritism, and other actions that do not embody the District’s Human Dignity Policy.”
The letter also pointed to “rumors circulating” about the board not adequately respecting the role of the administration.
Superintendent silent, ongoing issues
Superintendent Larry Young had not publicly responded to the school board’s letter as of Wednesday night.
In response to questions sent by WFYI asking whether Young was still acting superintendent for the district, Pike Township spokesperson Sarah Dorsey said all questions should be directed to the school board.
Young’s entire education career is at Pike Township. He was picked to be superintendent in June 2022, following the sudden departure of Superintendent Flora Reichanadter, who had faced months of criticism from parents and teachers over disruptions to student learning and management of the district.
The Pike Township School Board has been under fire in recent months over the search process for a co-athletic director for the district, which resulted in the school board president’s home mailbox being vandalized.
The dispute over who should be hired saw intense backlash from parents and members of the public during public meetings where they accused the board of lacking transparency over the hiring process.
In the Wednesday letter, the board says it has tried to repeatedly resolve issues and establish better communication channels. However, the board said it “only learned after the fact about potential safety issues, criminal matters, and pressing legal concerns – sometimes first finding out at the same time as the general public, through the news media.”
The Pike Township School Board is scheduled to have its next regular meeting on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administrative Services Center, at 6901 Zionsville Road.
This article was written by WFYI reporter Caroline Beck.
The post Pike Township school board says district leadership fostered fear, but won’t say who appeared first on Mirror Indy.
By Caroline Beck for WFYI
Pike Township school board says district leadership fostered fear, but won’t say who