It wasn’t the
win school officials were hoping for, but Duneland Superintendent Dirk Baer said
Tuesday’s razor-thin voter approval of Duneland’s tax referendum is still
significant, for it will keep programs intact and minimize anticipated staff
layoffs.
...
Baer said the
success of Tuedsay’s school referenda could be a sign that the public is
starting to realize that school funding problems are the direct result of state
education policies.
The end result
could be a wake-up call for state legislators to address school funding issues,
as well as prompt other struggling schools to turn to their local property
taxpayers for help.
“You might
start seeing more of these coming this fall or next spring,” Baer said.
For Duneland,
the referendum approval means that property taxpayers will see an additional
school tax rate of up to 22 cents on their tax bills for the next seven years,
beginning in 2013. How much the tax will raise will depend largely on the local
assessed value, but it is roughly estimated it will generate $5.6 million a
year.
The additional
tax won’t solve all of Duneland’s funding woes, Baer said. For one thing,
because the additional revenues won’t be available until next year, Duneland
will continue to have a “tight, tight budget” this year. School officials will
continue to be vigilant in cutting costs, he said.
At the same
time, the tax referendum approval will plug a growing budget shortfall and curb
anticipated additional cuts. Duneland already gave notice to 18 teachers --
mainly those in the elementary fine art and media programs -- that their
positions are expected to be eliminated. Two of the positions are currently held
by teachers who are retiring, and those two will likely remain unfilled. But
with the referendum approval, the pressure to cut the other slots has been
lifted, and the intent is to keep the 16 remaining teachers on board, Baer
said.
“We won’t see
the massive layoffs we would have seen otherwise,” he said.
...
Baer said he
would have liked to see a larger margin in support of the referendum. But he
acknowledged that Duneland was up against a few big obstacles. In addition to a
continued tough economy, he said the hotly contested U.S. Senate Republican race
between veteran Richard Lugar and Tea Party-backed Richard Mourdock may have
brought out many more voters than usual who are not particularly sympathetic to
tax hikes for schools.
Baer also said
that last year’s decision to replace the Chesterton High School football field
with artificial turf continues to be a sore spot with many voters. He said that
even though Duneland tried to get the message out that the funds for the turf
are separate from the school operating funds, it was impossible to convince
everyone.
Despite the
close margin, Baer said he is still pleased that the majority of voters came out
in support of the referendum.
“I still think
it’s a victory for the kids of the Duneland School Corporation,” he said.
