A part of what the referendum will fund: Vigo County School Corporation elementary school counselor Monica Tener-Smith listens as Dixie Bee Elementary first-graders shout “No” as part of a state-mandated child safety course on Friday at the school. For the Nov. 5 election, Vigo County voters are being asked to approve a school operational referendum that will provide funds for school counselors, like Tener-Smith, along with school protection officers and nurses. Staff photo by Joseph C. Garza
In the Nov. 5 election, Vigo County voters are being asked to approve a school operational referendum that would provide funds for school protection officers, school counselors and nurses.
The added property taxes will also help fund school transportation, which has been hard-hit by tax caps. It will help provide teachers, especially new teachers, with competitive pay, especially at a time of a serious teacher shortage, say school officials and referendum proponents.
The referendum “is about programming that has been put in place over time that is a different approach — an approach that supports the entire well-being of a community,” VCSC Superintendent Rob Haworth said.
That approach includes an armed school protection officer in every school, and in larger schools, more than one. Each day, the district has 37 officers in its schools.
The district’s approach also helps schools provide full-time counselors who can work with students on issues beyond just scheduling, he said. Elementary, middle and high schools have counselors who help students navigate social media issues, cope with personal trauma and grow as individuals.
It also includes more nurses in school buildings “to help keep pace with the number of health-related issues that our children are facing,” Haworth said. Those issues include such health conditions as diabetes, asthma, food allergies and epilepsy.
In recent years, the number of school nurses has doubled [to the current 10] and counselors have increased by 40 percent [currently there are 42]. The district also has increased the number of behavior interventionists and educational assistants.
The ‘bridge’
Some question why the district is both cutting costs and also asking for a referendum.
Haworth likens the referendum to a “bridge” to maintain those much-needed services until the district can right-size its budget in response to declining enrollment.
“We would like to continue to do those things at a time when we are in transition,” he said.
And so would citizens who attended recent community meetings and indicated they, too, want to maintain those services as they are. They suggested cuts in other areas, but not in those areas affecting safety, health and wellness.
So what happens if the referendum fails? “Our board will face tough decisions if we lose,” Haworth said.
Currently, the district is proposing $5.5 million in spending cuts and revenue enhancements, with at least $4 million in cuts being necessary. If the referendum fails, the district will have to make $8 million in cuts to maintain a 10 percent cash balance by the end of 2020.
That cash reserve is important both for bond ratings and to have enough funds on hand to meet at least one month’s expenses.
Without approval of a referendum, the current level of services associated with safety, health, wellness and transportation may be impacted.
“If we think about $8 million [in cuts], the board is going to have to make some very difficult decisions about those things and providing education on a basis that we’re somewhat familiar with,” Haworth said.
Referendum breakdown
A breakdown of how referendum funds would be used is as follows: safety/security, primarily school protection officers, $1.4 million; school counselors, $588,000; school nurses $260,000; behavior specialists, $300,000; teachers and staff, $3 million; transportation, $1 million.
The proposed tax increase amounts to 16.22 cents per $100 assessed value, a rate that would remain in place for eight years.
The district estimates that for a home with a market value of $200,000 [net assessed value of $97,750], owners would pay $158 annually in increased taxes. That estimate includes the standard deduction, supplemental homestead deduction and mortgage deduction.
For a home with a market value of $100,000 [net assessed value of $32,750], owners would pay an additional $53 annually.
Estimates were provided by Baker Tilly municipal advisers. Taxes on farmland would increase by $2.53 per acre while the owner of a $100,000 commercial building, including an apartment house, would pay an additional $162 annually.
Individuals wanting to determine their own tax impact can go to the Gateway Indiana referendum calculator at the following website: gateway.ifionline.org/CalculatorsDLGF/RefCalculator.aspx.
The question is No. 2 on the ballot and reads as follows:
“For the eight calendar years immediately following the holding of the referendum, shall Vigo County School Corp. impose a property tax rate that does not exceed sixteen and twenty-two hundredths cents ($0.1622) 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 safe transportation of students, to maintain safe and secure schools, reduce class sizes and attract and retain teachers and staff for our children?”
Why cuts, why a referendum?
The district must address a declining cash balance, or structural deficit, resulting from shrinking enrollment, decreased revenue and increased operational costs, including added costs for safety, health and wellness, Haworth has said.
The general fund also has been used to subsidize the tax cap impact on transportation, which was about $1 million in 2018.
The district’s cash balance has gone from $33.8 million in 2016 to a projected $13.5 million by the end of this year.
In announcing $5.5 million in proposed cuts and revenue enhancements last week, the district recommended three elementary schools be closed/repurposed and that alternative programs be combined at Booker T. Washington High School, which means McLean Education Center would no longer house an alternative program.
“We’re very serious about trying to create a budget that works for the number of students we have,” Haworth said.
Top central office administrator salaries would be cut, and the downtown administration building would be sold and central offices moved to a repurposed, VCSC-owned building. Significant cuts would require board approval.
A recent letter to the editor questioned information provided by the district about state funding. Haworth stands behind figures provided, which are $6,362 in total regular funding per student in 2019 and an estimated $6,510 in 2020.
Higher figures per student — $7,145 in 2019 and $7,305 in 2020 — include categorical funds for special education and career and technical education, but the superintendent added that funding can only be used for the designated purposes and doesn’t benefit all students.
“In the end, we encourage everybody to become well informed about the issues,” Haworth said. “In the end, we hope they choose protection officers and school counselors ... and help us through a time where we are in transition.”
Not everyone supports it
Among the groups that have endorsed the referendum are the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, the Taxpayers Association of Vigo County, the Western Indiana Workforce Investment Board and the Vigo County Education Foundation.
But the referendum could be a tough sell, given Vigo County citizens are already paying more taxes for a new jail and a new downtown convention center. Many farmers have concerns about how increased property taxes will affect them.
Jeff Gormong, a Vigo County farmer, describes it as “a very difficult situation because I think all of us are in favor of our kids. All of us favor security and having resources our children need,” he said.
But agriculture “is really struggling right now,” and those with large farms will be disproportionately impacted by the increase in property taxes, he said.
At his own family farm, he’s talking about thousands of dollars in increased property taxes, he said. “I want our kids to have everything they need ... but we’re in a difficult situation. That’s where I really struggle.”
Also, he knows that in less than two years, the district will ask for another referendum for facilities. “That will be the big one,” he said. He believes the answer is that there needs to be other ways to raise funds for schools, other than increasing enrollment or raising property taxes.
Gormong recently announced his intent to run as a Republican in Indiana House District 45 next year.
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