Superintendent gives district 2-hour delay after IU national championship game
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: CFP/Getty Images
Win or lose, students in Lanesville, Indiana, will have reason to celebrate Indiana University football Tuesday.
Driving the news: Lanesville Community Schools, the tiny school district serving 730 students in one building near the state's southern border, is starting school two hours late in honor of the Hoosiers' appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship game Monday night.
- Superintendent Ryan Apple said his students are excited, but his teachers maybe even more so.
- "They were going to stay up one way or another," he said.
The big picture: It's hard to overstate how excited just about every corner of Indiana is about the Hoosiers — five-time national champion in basketball — first-ever trip to the football national championship.
- In his annual State of the State address delivered earlier this week, Gov. Mike Braun told the story of 9-year-old Jack Gibson, from Shoals, Indiana.
- "He asked me if I could delay school on Tuesday morning so he can stay up late and watch the Hoosiers win on Monday," Braun said. "I'll leave it up to each school district to decide, but I think that sounds like a good idea."
Zoom in: In Lanesville, the idea came from a parent who texted Apple after IU won the Peach Bowl.
- It was a joke, Apple said. "Then, I thought, 'Why not?'"
- But he also wanted to do some good with it. So, Apple charged his district to raise $1,820 — in honor of IU's founding in 1820 — for Riley Children's Hospital at IU Health.
The latest: Apple told Axios he thought the total would be a stretch for his small district on a tight timeline — he announced it Monday, and they had until the boy's varsity basketball game on Saturday. They surpassed the goal on Tuesday.
- "It's taken off like wildfire," he said.
- By Wednesday morning, they'd raised nearly $3,000 and would continue collecting cash through Saturday's basketball game.
Between the lines: Apple was also wary of inconveniencing his families with the two-hour delay. So he'll be in the school gym early Tuesday morning for any kids who need to be dropped off.
What he's saying: Apple said it's been a good lesson for the district's students, learning how to pay it forward when something good happens to you — like your favorite football team making it to the national championship.
- "So many people have joy right now because of what IU football is doing," he said.