With early voting set to begin Oct. 6, the Hamilton Southeastern Schools operating referendum heads toward the Nov. 3 general election with an organized campaign behind it and, so far, no organized opposition.
The measure asks voters to replace the district’s current operating referendum, approved in 2023 with about 70% of the vote, with a new eight-year levy. The ballot question sets a maximum rate of 36 cents per $100 of assessed value and caps annual collections at $47.5 million.
District officials say the first-year rate would be well below that ceiling. Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown has recommended a 2027 rate of 22 cents. That’s down from an earlier estimate of 22.75 cents, after Hamilton County assessed values came in higher than projected. The school board is scheduled to vote on the rate in October. The current rate is just under 20 cents. The district projects the median homeowner would see about a $26 increase on the 2027 tax bill, roughly $2 a month.
Voters will see a much larger figure on the ballot. State-required language says the tax bill on a median $400,000 home “would increase by $700 per year.” That number reflects the full referendum levy at the maximum rate, not the difference from what homeowners already pay.
Why now
The 2023 referendum runs through 2031. District leaders say they are returning to voters early because of Senate Enrolled Act 1, the 2025 state property tax overhaul that phases in larger homestead deductions. Those deductions shrink the assessed value the referendum rate applies to. HSE projects losing about $45.3 million from 2026 through 2031 without a new levy.
The law also limits school referendums to general elections in even-numbered years, making Nov. 3 the district’s only chance before 2028.
What it pays for
According to the ballot question, the money would cover:
- salaries and benefits for about 275 staff members
- the behavioral health contract that places therapists in school buildings
- shared costs of school resource officers
- the director of school safety
- traffic control and after-school event security
- safety supplies and equipment
The superintendent’s case
Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley makes the case for a yes vote in an op-ed offered to local publications. He cites:
- three HSE schools reaching 100% proficiency on this year’s IREAD
- a districtwide third-grade passing rate of 97.3%, a six-year high
- a projected 99% graduation rate
- both high schools ranking in the top 5% nationally in U.S. News and World Report
Keeping those results, he argues, depends on keeping teachers. “There is no substitute for having talented, capable professionals in front of students every day,” Kegley writes, adding that “the educator pool isn’t growing quickly.”
He also highlights the Ascension partnership that places therapists in schools, and the resource and safety officers who cover arrival, dismissal and large events. And he names learning experiences he wants to expand: elementary programs at Conner Prairie, AgriPark and Hub & Spoke, and a precision-machining pathway with Ivy Tech and SMC.
“We should be proud of the excellence HSE students and educators demonstrate today,” Kegley writes. “But pride in what we’ve accomplished can’t become complacency about what’s next.”
The campaign
Advance HSE, the political action committee backing the measure, kicked off its campaign July 8 at Hub & Spoke. Chair Laura Cole has recruited volunteers to work community events, including football games and the Geist Half Marathon. At the kickoff, campaign consultant Robin Winston said the effort would need to reach 25,000 to 26,000 voters. He based that on 30% turnout among roughly 83,000 registered voters in the district.
No local group has formed to oppose the HSE question. Statewide, Americans for Prosperity-Indiana has said it plans to engage in Central Indiana referendum races, and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith has publicly criticized the measures.
HSE is one of five Hamilton County school districts asking voters for more money in November, along with Carmel Clay, Noblesville, Sheridan and Westfield Washington.