From the Northwest Indiana Times:
Twelve years after helping lead a successful petition drive to build a new high school, Jim Jeselnick is promoting the call for a tax increase to support school district operations.
District voters in May will be asked to approve a 22-cent tax increase for a period of seven years to aid Duneland School Corp.
The former Duneland teacher, whose wife is a longtime teacher's aide for the district, has teamed up with district employees and residents in sounding the alarm about losses the school system faces from state-mandated cuts and funding formula inequities.
At stake are 20 teaching positions and one-third of the custodial and clerical staff, which will be cut if the referendum does not pass, Duneland Superintendent Dirk Baer said.
The district's expenses are projected to continue outpacing revenue at an increasing rate through at least 2019, he said.
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The tax increase Duneland is proposing would boost the district's tax rate from 86 cents per $100 in assessed valuation to $1.08, which is still less than the state average of $1.18, Baer said. The increase would amount to $185 a year for a $178,800 average-priced home in the Duneland district, he said.
The school's rate is expected to drop by 3 cents in July and another 9 cents in four years as debt is paid off.
The additional revenue is needed because the district's general fund was reduced from $40 million in 2009 to $35.5 million last year, Baer said.
The district has responded, he said, by eliminating 35 positions over the past two years, including 17 teachers and 15 custodial and clerical employees. The number of administrators shrank during the same period from 24 to 20, Baer said.
There also has been no general pay increases since 2008-09, classified staff hours have been reduced by 30 minutes a day, and 12-month employees were furloughed for a week without pay, he said. The district also has taken part in shared purchasing, pursued energy savings at buildings, reduced the professional training budget and stopped subsidizing summer school.
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In a sidebar, the Times reports:
The Friends of Duneland Schools political action committee raised $9,050 as of April 11 to help generate a positive response to the district's general fund referendum.
The money, which was reported along with the finances of other campaigns this election season, was generated through donations from people ranging from $100 to $1,500.
The group did not report any expenditures.
Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/duneland/beverly-shores/duneland-schools-looking-to-voters-for-tax-increase/article_bcc21ac0-9110-58f7-ab69-8c186c5b6dbb.html#ixzz1smQvVbJp
