Hamilton Southeastern voters will reshape their school board Nov. 3, and every candidate in a contested race sat down with me for a podcast conversation. Links to all of them, plus my podcast on the HSE operating referendum, are below.
Four of the seven board seats are on the ballot. None of the four incumbents holding those seats, Tiffany Pascoe, Juanita Albright, Dawn Lang and Ben Orr, is running again. That means at least four new members, a board majority, will take office in January 2027.
Seats are elected by district, not at-large. You will see only the race for the district where you live.
This is also the first HSE board election under a new Indiana law that lets school board candidates list a political party on the ballot. Candidates may also run with no party designation, and there is no primary.
The District 4 race is settled. Stephanie Braden is running unopposed
The referendum
Every HSE voter, regardless of district, will also decide on a new operating referendum. It would replace the one voters approved in 2023 with about 70% support.
The 2025 state property tax overhaul, Senate Enrolled Act 1, changed how taxes are calculated. As a result, the current rate of 19.95 cents per $100 of assessed value brings in far less than planned. The district estimates it will collect about $45 million less over the final six years of the current referendum.
The new referendum would run eight years. Its maximum rate would be 36 cents per $100 of assessed value, capped at $47.5 million a year. The ballot language says the money would pay salaries and benefits for about 275 staff members. It would also cover behavioral health therapists in school buildings, school resource officers and other school safety costs.
State law sets a formula for the ballot question. Under that formula, the question says a median $400,000 home would pay $700 more a year at the maximum rate. Superintendent Matt Kegley has said the district does not plan to levy the maximum. He estimates the median homeowner would pay about $3 more per month in 2027.
HSE is one of five Hamilton County districts with an operating referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot. The district offers a tax calculator at hseschools.org.
How to vote
Early in-person voting is underway at the Hamilton County Judicial Center in Noblesville and at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds. Additional sites, including Fishers, open Oct. 21. Election Day polls are open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Check the Hamilton County Election Office website for locations and hours.
There are a number of ways to check your sample ballot and know which district in which you reside and which candidates for school board will be on your ballot. I suggest using vote.org.
Listen to the candidates, then make your voice heard. Links to the podcasts are below:
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Stephanie Braden (Unopposed, will invite her to appear on a podcast post-election)
Listen to my podcast about the school funding referendum with the Advance HSE PAC and school officials at this link.