By Brandi Watters
The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON, Ind. —
On Election Day, voters in the Elwood and Anderson school districts will be asked to increase their own taxes.
Thanks to the Department of Local Government Finance, property owners now have a tool to find out just how much a tax referendum will cost them.
Using the tool, property owners can log on, type in their assessed value, include any deductions, and learn what a school referendum’s passage will cost.
In the Anderson Community School Corporation district, where voters are asked to pass a 55-cent increase to the tax rate, a typical homeowner whose assessed valuation is $50,000 would pay an extra $69 per year if the referendum passes on Nov. 2.
In Elwood, the same homeowner would see an increase of $63. Elwood is asking voters to increase the tax rate by 50 cents per $100.
Elwood Community Schools Superintendent Glen Nelson said the referendum is an absolute necessity for the cash-strapped schools.
Going into the 2010 school year, Elwood is facing a $2.5 million deficit, he said. Passage of the referendum would net the school about $1 million in extra revenue each year.
Nelson hopes that voters won’t see the referendum as just another tax hike.
Since property taxes were decreased, he said, funding the referendum would allow that leftover tax money to go straight to the local community, rather than being funneled through the bureaucratic channels at the state level.
ACS Superintendent Felix Chow said the school district needs the referendum now more than ever.
As classes started last Monday, ACS realized it had lost 1,300 students since last fall.
Schools are funded based on the number of students they have.
Coupled with property tax caps and cuts to education, the school district could face a $20 million deficit by 2013, he said.
ACS expects to get about $3.5 million extra each year if the referendum passes.
“If we pass the referendum, we have a chance of balancing the budget,” Chow said.
Without the referendum, more teacher layoffs are imminent, he said.
“We are $5 million in the hole at this time,” he said.
ACS board member Jean Chaille said she was disappointed that the previous school board didn’t address funding shortfalls sooner.
“It’s discouraging the position we find ourselves in because I think there could have been things done,” she said.
The new board, including Chaille, had the chance to kill the referendum, but chose to proceed.
“I hated to see us have to go to that measure but we need to have an increase in money because our money keeps decreasing as students leave and we can’t bear that,” she said.
Although voters will be asked a technical, financial question on the referendum, Chaille said the real question posed to voters is something else.
“Do they think that we are worthy of more of their tax money?”
Contact Brandi Watters: 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
