Central Indiana voters to decide on school referendums

INDIANAPOLIS — As May’s primary election approaches, Central Indiana residents have be inundated with various advertisements and information regarding specific primary races, from the Indiana Governor’s race to the various tight races in various congressional districts.

However, for voters in three school districts in Central Indiana, they will choose whether or not to increase their property tax bill to provide an increase in operating funds for those districts.

Indiana school referendums are a mechanism through which local districts ask voters to fund general operating expenses or specific education initiatives. The length of a referendum in the state of Indiana is eight years and school districts are required to outline the purposes for the funding.

In this year’s primary election, three districts in Central Indiana are proposing school referendums, including:

• Pike Township Metropolitan School District
• Brown County Schools
• Blue River Valley Schools

Pike Township Metropolitan School District

For the first time in the district’s history, the Pike Township Metropolitan School District will be bringing a school operating referendum to district residents.

Over the course of eight years, a tax rate of $0.24 per $100 of net assessed value would raise almost $16 million per year for the district, covering the $14.5 million in annual needs that the district has reported.

The Pike Township Metropolitan School District has divided up its needs in the operating referendum into three categories:

• Loss learning enhancement programming and staff recruitment currently supported through federal COVID-19 relief funds: $4,500,000
  • To sustain essential programming, staff and resources
  • To provide quality instructional technology that enhances classroom instruction and prepares students for college and career success.
  • Includes salaries and benefits for around 57 certified staff including teachers, academic interventionists, counselors, social workers and academic support specialists.
  • Includes technology device purchases and other technology equipment purchases to support educational programs.
• Teacher/staff retention and recruitment: $9,000,000
  • To attract and retain high-quality teachers and staff
  • Includes a portion of wages for all instructional staff including teachers, custodians, instructional assistants, secretaries and administration. Also includes funds for professional development, recruitment and retention costs.
• School safety and security programs: $1,000,000
  • To maintain and enhance safety infrastructure and systems
  • Increase safety and security personnel, including expanding the number of school resource officers and other school safety personnel.

Larry Young, the superintendent for Pike Township, said that the district has been good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Right now however, Young stressed the need is greater than what has been allotted to the district by the state.

“We also want folks to know that for the average assessed value of a home in Pike Township, the ask is about $24 dollars a month,” he said. “That investment will help us along the track that we are going, preparing our students, and ultimately ensuring our community continues to thrive for years into the future.”

Ultimately, Young said the community has been supportive of the referendum, stating that the Pike Township community is one that supports education. If passed, the referendum will help the district continue its path to success.

If the referendum does not pass, Young said it could impact the salaries and benefits of staff, as well as the programs the district offers.

“If it doesn’t pass, we won’t be able to do the things that we’ve talked about at the level that I truly believe we need to do those things,” he said. “We just don’t have funds laying around that we currently don’t have allocated to support the students that have been in place through our federal relief dollars. That would be a really big impact and a lot of those things would go away.”

Many Pike Township residents said they supported the referendum. Brandi Richardson said she would support the referendum because it would help the students, the teachers and the community as a whole.

Ultimately, Richardson said the increase in taxes will be justified to support the community.

“I am totally for it. Pay a little bit extra a month or a little bit for the students, the youth,” she said. “Like I said, it’s going to go a long way because it’s going to pay it forward, once they get accumulated to the community through their jobs or any type of post-education they receive, they are going to pay it back into the community, because they are going to be a part of the community, living in the community, paying taxes, so it should be like a full circle.”

Christian Van Dyke, a Pike Township parent, said that education is important, stressing he would like to see his kids receive the best one they can get.

“What’s $20 a month when my kids have more programs in their school?” Van Dyke said.

Young asked Pike Township residents to go to the district’s website and complete the investment calculator to see what their tax impact could be if the referendum is passed.

“Put in the assessed value. You don’t have to guess, you don’t have to wonder, you don’t have to rely on what your neighbor said, what someone online said,” he said. “Put in your assessed value, you will know what your investment will be.”

Other Referendums

Two other districts in Central Indiana also brought forward school operations-related referendums to voters, asking residents for more funds to improve the districts. Those districts include Brown County Schools and Blue River Valley Schools.

Brown County Schools

After residents approved an eight-year operating levy of $0.08 per $100 of assessed property value in 2016, Brown County Schools are asking voters to continue their investment by renewing the levy at a rate of $0.10 per $100 of assessed property value.

Officials with the district said on their website that this levy would help support teachers and staff with a pay increase, as well as fund the addition of six positions in various areas. The $0.10 levy per $100 of assessed property value would raise more than $1.8 million in funding for the district.

The majority of the referendum, if passed, would go toward school operating expenditures. This portion, consisting of $0.09 of the levy, includes:

• Increase teacher pay to elevate teacher compensation to be competitive with neighboring school districts – $657,000
• Increase non-certified staff pay to promote staff retention and employee stability for Brown County Schools – $255,000
• Adding six positions to support student needs in areas of special education, career and technical education, civic arts, including the reinstatement of the theater program, and work-based learning – $423,000
• Sustaining the current and future levels of salaries and benefits for Brown County Schools employees – $356,000

The last cent of the levy is expected to go toward additional operational costs to support adult education programming not funded by grants, which is around $188,000.

Because of the levy currently implemented, the district said that homeowners should expect an average increase of $11 per month in property taxes if the referendum passes. The district said that if the referendum is not passed, programs are at risk for “substantial cuts.” The district also said class sizes could be increased and teaching positions could be eliminated if the referendum is not passed.

“We urge you to vote in favor of the referendum,” the district said on its website. “Talk to your neighbors, share the facts and become an advocate for our schools. Let’s unite for a brighter future and vote ‘Yes’ on May 7. Your voice and your vote is crucial.”

Blue River Valley Schools

Blue River Valley Schools, a district located within Prairie Township and Blue River Township, is asking voters to approve a $0.19 tax levy per $100 of assessed property value aimed at increasing teacher pay and making the district more competitive in order to “attract and retain quality teachers.”

The district said on its website that the district, like many districts across Indiana, has seen a decline in enrollment. Citing a law that passed in 2010, the district reports that more than $460,000 in local property taxes that were previously used to fund the district were taken away.

In 2010, the state of Indiana passed a property tax cap amendment, limiting a taxpayer’s annual tax bill by various percentages of gross assessed value. With this amendment passing, the district said that the state encouraged school districts to ask their local community for more funding through a referendum.

“The Blue River Valley School Corporation is following the directive from our state in requesting a $0.19 additional tax levy in the form of an operating referendum from the community members in our school district,” Trent McCormick, the superintendent of the district, said on its website. “Blue River Valley Schools is requesting this additional funding from our local community members in order to pay our teachers more money for the important work they do.”

Officials with the district said that if the referendum is passed, the community should expect an average increase of $15-25 in their property tax bill to support the district. Officials said if it is not passed, cost reductions could happen that impact the quality of the district, including staff, programs, equipment and maintenance.

“The long-range reality is that small public school districts will be forced into considering consolidation by our state legislative bodies (if the referendum is not passed),” the website reads.

“Our board has thoroughly discussed the referendum and unanimously decided to put the question on the ballot in May,” Jon Madison, the district’s school board president, said on the website. “The state funding mechanism has dramatically changed over the years and Blue River Valley finds itself being squeezed by both declining enrollment and reduced property tax revenue due to property tax caps. In order to attract and retain the best teachers, we need to significantly raise our teacher salaries It was neither a quick nor an easy decision by the board. We are fully committed to providing accurate information through various means to help each voter make a well-informed decision.”

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