Shutdown has little effect on MCCSC

As a result of the government shutdown at the beginning of October, some federal workers throughout the United States have been furloughed and some federal areas, such as national parks, have been closed.

However, the shutdown will not affect the Monroe County Community School Corporation in significant ways.

“When the government shutdown occurred, we suffered very minimal impact,” said Beverly Smith, MCCSC director of school and community services. “We’re very grateful for that.”

However, there are some tasks the shutdown has prevented MCCSC from doing.
“Our E-Verify system is down,” Smith said. “It runs in conjunction with I-9 forms to make our workers legally eligible to work in the U.S. We have to register our people through it. It was shut down, but we were told to load the information now, and it will be stored.”

The other issue with the government shutdown is the movement of money to the schools.

“Any federal grants we are in the process of writing or renewing have no aid,” Smith said. “If we have questions or need advice, there is no access to help.”

Apart from these minor problems, Smith said MCCSC is operating at normal functionality.

Should the shutdown become long-term, Smith said it is unclear what all will be affected, but MCCSC will be all right.

“I believe a long-term shutdown is something we will have to monitor as the days move forward,” she said.

Still, Smith said MCCSC hopes the shutdown will not last long.

“Hopefully, Congress will come to a resolution soon,” she said.

— Stephen Kroll