From the Northwest Indiana Times:
Three local school corporations are joining a growing number of school districts asking for a property tax increase as they wrestle with state budget cuts to education.
On May 7, the School Town of Munster, and the Metropolitan School District of Boone Township and the Union Township School Corp., both in Porter County, will be asking for a tax increase in voter referendums.
After a law was changed in 2008, the state assumed funding for each school corporation’s general fund through an increase in the sales tax. Before that, schools were supported by property taxes.
But the Great Recession that began in 2008 hindered sales tax revenue -- which in turn reduced funding for schools.
Educators also said their budget problems were caused as a result of statewide cuts to education during former Gov. Mitch Daniels' administration.
Superintendents and school boards have thought "long and hard" the past few years about the benefits and consequences of a referendum, said Terry Spradlin, associate director of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University at Bloomington.
The chances for a general fund referendum passing are about 50-50 in Indiana, Spradlin said, while a construction referendum has a 40 percent passage rate among Indiana schools.
A general fund referendum asks for money to support the general fund budget, which mostly pays for salaries and benefits along with classroom programs. A construction referendum pays for new construction and renovations.
Spradlin said voter appetite for referendums, which peaked in 2010, is mixed as districts watch the new makeup of the Statehouse.
"Right now, school corporations are trying to see what's going to happen with funding from the Indiana General Assembly," he said.
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See the full article, including a chart of school referenda vote results, here:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/school-districts-developing-appetite-for-referendums/article_0194f990-581d-57a3-a797-82d974b64a86.html
