Voters Say No To Public-Private Pre-K Partnership
“I’m not discouraged at all that over the long term we’ll figure out a way to not only help the children of Columbus, Ind., but our state will figure out a way to help all 4-year-olds, regardless of their means, to be able to pay for pre-K,” says Burnett.
Indiana is one of eight states without a state-funded early education program. But paying for preschool isn’t a priority for Governor-elect Mike Pence, who offered praise for Busy Bees and other community early education initiatives on the campaign trail.
Second Mt. Vernon Community Schools Levy Fails
The district had 16 years of continuous growth and took on debt to pay for new building projects, says Assistant Superintendent Mike Horton. A victim of the property tax cap, the district appeared before the Distressed Unit Appeals Board earlier this year to ask for a loan from the state’s rainy day fund. But voters rejected the proposed 8-cent per $100 of assessed valuation increase.
“We’ll continue to look at ways to cut as much as we can,” says Horton. “We’re currently living under our means, but the difference is making up what we had to take to make up for our debt service.”
Hamilton Says Referendum Will Give District Chance To Grow
“Over the course of the seven years we have the referendum, we need to grow and prosper,” says Willman. ”We need to grow enrollment-wise, and we need to grow in student achievement and add opportunities for young men and women.”
Willman told StateImpact last month that he thinks if he can add about 100 students — that’s just 10 to 15 a year by his calculation — the district will get enough revenue from the state to stay open.
See the full article here:
http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2012/11/07/voters-rally-to-save-hamilton-school-but-other-referendums-fail-at-the-ballot-box/
StateImpact has the election results summarized here:
Indiana Education Election Results 2012