Premier Arts reports strong summer lineup and seeks innovation agreement to occupy vacated school building

Premier Arts reported robust summer programming and said it has proposed an innovation agreement with Elkhart Community Schools that would allow the organization to occupy a vacated school building known as Oslo, pending a school-board decision.

A Premier Arts representative outlined recent activity including the visit to the Stratford Festival, youth workshops, and an upcoming production of Guys and Dolls. The representative said the organization's ambassador students attended multiple plays and workshops and that the experience will inform local programming.

On the proposed partnership, the representative said Premier Arts has offered the school district a plan to take over a building that the district has decided to vacate, and that the plan would be before the Elkhart Community Schools board on July 14. “The law says that once a school, vacates a space that they've gotta give it up to a charter school,” the speaker said; no statutory citation was given during the meeting and the statement was not corroborated in the transcript.

Carl Thompson, Lerner Theatre general manager, and other board members expressed optimism that the arrangement would support growth for arts education programs but acknowledged some school-board members remain unconvinced. Thompson said the project is expected to move forward within the next six to eight months if approved and that staff will continue planning and outreach in the interim.

The board did not take a formal vote on the school partnership during the meeting; the item remains pending before the school board and will return to the local agenda only after the district's decision.