During its two listening sessions, the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC, heard educators in Indianapolis Public Schools push for a new tax rate high enough to fund their schools.
However, the new mayor-appointed board, also heard pushback from local taxpayers who said their current property tax bills are already too high, potentially forcing them to find housing elsewhere.
Setting a new property tax referendum rate to put on the November ballot is one of the key steps the IPEC board needs to take in the coming weeks before it can dive into its other work of reshaping the Indianapolis education landscape.
IPS is facing a $40 million deficit as its 2018 voter-approved operating referendum expires at the end of this year. The funds have boosted teachers, helped expand academic programs and shared with some charter schools. Recently, the district has laid off more than 100 staff members as part of budget cuts.
The IPEC was created earlier this year by state lawmakers to design new systems for IPS and charter schools in the city to share resources more efficiently and equitably across its schools and to create a new accountability system. It also controls the financial oversight of the district. If a November referendum is approved, the local revenue would be distributed to IPS and charter schools within the district boundary.
The nine-member board is considering a range of rates that could continue the IPS district’s current rate of close to 20 cents per every $100 of assessed value, all the way up to 55 cents.
This means taxpayers could see an increase of possibly $3 to $25 in their monthly tax bill for homeowners with a $200,000 home value. This also means that the annual cost to a homeowner could range from $170 to $475.
Indiana law caps how much most property owners pay in taxes — at 1% of assessed value for an owner-occupied home, 2% for other residential property and farmland, and 3% for business property. But a voter-approved referendum is one of the few ways a school district can raise operating money beyond the caps, because referendum levies are exempt from them.
The IPEC board is expected to hold a public hearing and vote on the referendum rate during its June 22 meeting at 5 p.m. at the Indianapolis City-County Building.
Concerns of taxpayers
Of the roughly 10 speakers at Wednesday’s listening session, most were educators from IPS schools who were advocating for a raised referendum rate, but three speakers also spoke to the tax burden they’re already under in the IPS area.
Jeff Cummings said he’s lived in his IPS-area home for 23 years and has seen his property taxes increase from $4,000 to now being $13,500. He said he, along with his elderly neighbors who live on fixed incomes, cannot afford to handle this cost increase much longer.
“We are being taxed out of our homes,” Cummings said.
Other speakers included Shauna Lipscomb, the principal of Brookside Elementary School 54, who said their staff isn’t just helping students with academic needs but also with everyday life concerns, such as food insecurity and mental health needs.
She says that if funding is reduced, all those services could be put at risk.
“Because when resources are reduced, it isn't the spreadsheet that feels the impact, it's the child,” Lipscomb said.
The general election is Nov. 3.
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org.
