Monroe County schools faces cuts to faculty, programs if referendum isn't renewed

As a result of that infusion of dollars, MCCSC has done more than weather the funding storm, shrinking class sizes to close to what they were before the state funding cut and reviving programs that were eliminated. It also charted a new course by adding employees to focus on literacy, initiating early intervention with the addition of preschools and offering new programming to give students a global perspective.

Since the passage of the referendum in 2010, MCCSC has seen a rise in graduation rates and scores on high school End of Course Assessments, IREAD-3 and ISTEP, resulting in straight A grades for the district over the past three years.

With the six years of funding almost up, the school corporation is testing the waters for another referendum. But will voters be willing to toss out a life raft again, and what will happen if they don’t?

How was the money spent?

The bulk of referendum dollars have gone to teacher pay, with the district filling most of the teaching jobs lost in the year before the referendum kicked in with classroom teachers and full-time certified academic coaches. More than $5.4 million of referendum funds annually pay for teachers’ salaries and benefits. Wages for some principals, counselors, nurses and custodians also are paid for by the referendum. Many of those positions would not exist had the referendum failed.

The student-to-teacher ratio, while dropping when referendum money became available, is still higher than before, by one or two students per classroom at most grade levels, with much of that differential traceable to money instead going to the literacy effort.