Hamilton Southeastern Schools will place a new operating referendum on the November 3 ballot following a school board vote Wednesday night. The measure passed 6-0, with board President Tiffany Pascoe abstaining.
In other welcome news for the district, Superintendent Matt Kegley announced that attrition has opened enough positions that all 18 teachers who received Reduction in Force notices this spring will have jobs, meaning no teacher layoffs for the coming school year.
Pascoe explains her abstention
Pascoe also abstained in 2023, when the board voted to place the district’s previous referendum on the ballot. She said Wednesday that abstention came because financial questions she had at the time “went unanswered.”
She expressed confidence in the current administrative team, but raised concerns about committing to an eight-year referendum without knowing who will serve on the board in the years ahead. Her abstention this time, she said, is “in deference to the community that the board serves.”
Why another referendum so soon?
Kegley walked the board through a detailed explanation of why the district is returning to voters now. The 2023 referendum, approved with 70% support, was intended to run for eight years. But property tax legislation passed by Indiana lawmakers in the 2025 session changed how property taxes are computed, and the referendum rate now yields far less revenue than under the previous system.
The referendum is only part of the district’s financial response. Kegley noted HSE enrolls roughly 1,500 fewer students than it did six years ago, and the district’s budget reduction committee is recommending $7.8 million in spending cuts to compensate.
Even where assessed property values are rising, Kegley explained, the deductions the state now allows under the 2025 changes reduce the amount of valuation actually subject to the tax rate.
What the ballot language means for taxpayers
As required by state law, the ballot language will cite a maximum rate increase of 36 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Kegley emphasized the district does not expect to levy that maximum rate in any year of the eight-year referendum.
The ballot language also cites a roughly $700 annual figure based on a median home valuation rounded up, as statute requires, to $400,000. Because district staff will recommend a rate well below the maximum, Kegley said, the median homeowner would actually see an increase of about $3 a month on their property tax bill in 2027 if the referendum passes.
The full presentation Superintendent Kegley delivered to the school board is available at this link.