People won't move to a community with outdated schools with outdated technology.
That's one of the reasons Matthew Boulac, a parent of two students in Mishawaka schools, said he supports a $28 million facilities upgrade proposal that's headed to a voter referendum this fall.
Boulac was one of four Mishawaka residents who spoke in support of a referendum during a special hearing on the issue on Tuesday evening.
"We've got to meet the challenge," Chuck Wayne said, adding if voters turn down the referendum, it will send the message that city residents don't support their schools.
A former board member here, a certified public accountant bytrade
, was the lone resident questioning the referendum on Tuesday.Mike Wojtysiak, who was on the board most recently about seven years ago and ran unsuccessfully last fall, said he'd like the board and the administration to do a little more "homework" on the issue.
School officials have said the measure -- if approved by voters in November -- would add about $100 in property taxes a year to a home valued at $100,000.
But Wojtysiak doesn't agree with those numbers. In his estimation, he said, it would be more like a $170 annual increase on a property valued at $100,000.
"Who's going to buy your house (in Mishawaka) when your tax rates are so much higher?" he said when he met with The Tribune earlier this week.
Ultimately, the board voted Tuesday 4-1 in favor of a resolution that moves the referendum process forward.
Jeff Emmons, one of two elected members of the hybrid school board, as it's called, voted against the resolution.
"To me," Emmons said, "there are a lot of items (on the list of upgrades) that aren't emergency issues."
This fall, voters who live within School City's boundaries will entertain the notion of supporting a $28 million project that will, among a long list of other items, result in augmented security at many of the district's schools, roof, parking lot and boiler repairs and improvements to the high school football stadium.
A referendum, which can either be for a construction project or to add to a school district's general fund, is a fairly new method of school financing in Indiana.
Via an election, voters are asked to decide whether they're willing to pay more in property taxes to further support schools.
The district is unable to finance its building needs, Business Manager Randy Squadroni said, in part because of the circuit breaker, a law that essentially caps property tax rates.
Furthermore, Mishawaka schools are negatively affected by a decreasing assessed valuation within their boundaries and a tax base that's largely residential, as opposed to business/manufacturing, Squadronisaid.
Wojtysiak, meanwhile, warned the board that with or without the passage of the $28 million referendum, the school corporation faces financial uncertainty come 2019 when property tax caps are fullyimplemented in St. Joseph County.
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http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/sbt-mishawaka-school-board-votes-in-support-of-referendum-on-facilities-upgrades-20130611,0,870130.story
