HAMMOND — School City of Hammond Superintendent Scott Miller and other district officials made their case to residents Thursday night for approving referenda on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Hammond schools is seeking the renewal of their current operating referendum that was passed by voters in 2017. If approved again this year, the rate of the referendum would continue at 44 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for another eight years.
The school district is also seeking a $84.2 million capital projects referendum for renovations at Morton High School, upgraded playgrounds at five elementary schools and new baseball and softball fields at Hammond Central High School.
During the community meeting at Morton High, Miller provided reasoning behind the closure of Gavit and Clark high schools, which has been a contentious point with many Hammond residents, and a reason for opposing the referendums.
The superintendent said closing both high schools had been discussed since the early 2000s and the district closed the schools as part of a cost savings plan created with the Distressed Unit Appeals Board, and had Hammond schools not closed them voluntarily, the state board would have forced them to.
He also discussed factors that have gone into the district's decreasing revenue and increased costs, such as drop in enrollment, decrease in funding based on a school district's poverty levels, staff raises and higher medical insurance costs.
During the presentation, one resident kept interrupting Miller, accusing the superintendent of lying about remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, demanding the referendum questions be read verbatim and asking Miller how much his salary was.
At one point, Hammond school board Trustee Cindy Murphy confronted the heckler at the back of room, causing a brief commotion, before the resident left the meeting.
According to the district, the operating referendum generates around $15 million annually in revenue and makes up around 13% of its budget. Miller previously told The Times if the referendum fails, employee positions would have to be cut, and services, like bus transportation, may also be impacted.
Hammond schools CFO Eric Kurtz attempted to reassure residents at the meeting that the renewal of the operating referendum would not mean increased tax rates and homeowners would only see a higher tax bill if their property value increased.
The CFO blamed the "misleading" language of the ballot question and said he believed it was worded in such a matter to make it more difficult to pass it.
In 2021, the state legislature passed changes in ballot language for operating referendum.
Kurtz did concede the capital projects referendum would increase property taxes, but argued the average homeowner would pay less than $110 a year in additional taxes.
Miller further argued passing the referendum would be beneficial for Hammond's only charter school — the Hammond Academy of Science and Technology.
Under Senate Enrolled Act 391, public schools will need to share a portion of any revenue raised by a successful operating referendum with local charter schools.
Furthermore, Miller told resident, if Hammond schools were revenue sharing with HAST, they would be exempt from Indiana's $1 law, which requires public school districts to sell or lease vacant building to charter schools for $1.
Once exempt from the $1 law, Hammond schools would be able to sell the vacant Gavit and Clark schools for market value, Miller claimed.
The superintendent concluded the meeting by telling residents a vote for the referenda was a vote for the future of Hammond.
"If we want to help the community out, we got to start with the schools," Miller said.
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