After a false start in July of 2015, the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board has now acted on a recommendation from Superintendent Allen Bourff to conduct a tax referendum to be placed on the May 3rd primary election ballot.  The school board was ready to place the referendum on the November, 2015 election cycle, but chose to wait and allow school officials to conduct a months-long “listening tour” to gauge public views.

Now that the board had unanimously voted to move ahead with the vote, let’s take a look at what voters will be deciding less then 4 months from now.

 

TAX INCREASE

Based on data provided by school administrators, here’s what a homeowner would face in extra taxes if the referendum is voted-in:

–For a home valued at $100,000, expect an annual property tax hike for $41.76

–If your home is valued at $250,000, your estimated annual property tax increase would be $166.07

–For a home valued at $500,000, it is estimated you will see an increase of $373 in your yearly property tax bill.

In 2009, an operating expense referendum, like the one coming up on May 3rd, increased property tax bills by 10 cents per $100 of a assessed valuation.  The proposed referendum would keep that rate and add 12.75 cents, for a total referendum rate of 22.75 cents per $100 of property valuation.

 

HSE School Needs

Superintendent Bourff listed a number of needs that give rise to his argument that more tax funds are needed.  Here are some of them:

–CLASS SIZE….The size of classes has been rising in recent years as HSE Schools have dealt with budget shortfalls.  Dr. Bourff wants to reverse that trend in grades K-6.  His goal is to reduce the number of students by 2-3 in each classroom.  This would reverse a trend of rising classroom sizes.  If the referendum is approved, administrators would immediately get to work on hiring more staff to reduce the number of students in each classroom in grades K-6.  Dr. Bourff is willing to use those trailers, or mobile classrooms, as the school corporation looks at adding additional building space, in order to reduce the student-teacher ratios immediately.

–COMPETITIVE SALARIES….HSE is in the bottom third of the salary scale for suburban school districts in our area, both for beginning and the most experienced educators.  Dr. Bourff says approving the referendum will allow our school system to be more competitive in attracting and retaining good teachers.

–FEE RELIEF FOR PARENTS….When HSE was in a cost-cutting mode recently, a
“pay-to-play” structure was instituted requiring fees to be paid for student participation in athletics and other school programs.  If the referendum is approved, Dr. Bourff told the board those fees will be phased out and eliminated.

–WORLD CLASS LANGAUAGES….With competition around the world now commonplace, Dr, Bourff is proposing to use some of the referendum funds to institute more language programs.

Here are some other needs listed by Dr. Bourff…

–Additional Resources for Professional Development

–Additional Resources for Programming

–Administrative Support for Large Elementary Schools

–Upgrades to Building Technology Infrastructure and Computer Stations

 

What about the extra money approved in last year’s legislative session?

With the help of many local legislators, and a push from local elected officials such as Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, Indiana lawmakers did lower the gap HSE Schools has seen compared to the rest of the state, but even with that extra money, HSE is still behind most Indiana school districts.

With the added money from the General Assembly, the state provides $5,175.64 per HSE student in the current school year.  The state average is $5,877.49 per student, leaving a gap of over $700 per student for HSE.  If the referendum is approved by the voters in May, the combination of state funding and the added referendum money would increase per student spending to $5,926.36, placing HSE $48.87 above the state average in per-student financial support.

 

Referendum Wording

The exact language to appear on the May 3rd referendum ballot has not been officially approved by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, but here is what the school corporation is proposing (and expecting to get state approval)…

“For the seven (7) calendar years immediately following the holding of the referendum, shall the Hamilton Southeastern Schools impose a property tax rate that does not exceed twenty-two and three quarters cents ($0.2275) on each one hundred dollars ($100) of assessed valuation and that is in addition to all other property taxes imposed by the school corporation for the purpose of funding daily educational operations, academic and support programs, including the reduction in class sizes, and for any other educational needs of the school corporation?”

 

What happens next?

The campaign begins.  School staff received instructions from school attorney David Day about state law restrictions concerning campaigning on school grounds and using school property during work time advocating for the referendum.  A Political Action Committee (PAC) has been formed to advocate in favor of passing the tax referendum, named “Advance HSE.”  You can access their Web site at this link.

It is not known whether any organized groups plan to oppose the referendum.  If LarryInFishers sees any, we will let you know.

 

Bottom Line

HSE School Superintendent Dr. Allen Bourff made his case before the school board and the public on hand for the January 25th school board meeting.  The board unanimously approved the referendum as proposed by school administrators.  The next step is the campaign.  We will get our final answer on May 3rd when the votes are counted.  At LarryInFishers, we will be following the story up to (and including) election day when the votes are counted.