Raises, more mental health services on the way as referendum passes

<p>Franklin schools will pay teachers and staff more and be able to provide more mental health services for students after voters said yes to a property tax increase.</p><p>Voters in Needham, Franklin and Union townships passed a referendum on the matter that will raise property taxes. Sixty-three percent of voters said yes to the question on the ballot.</p><p>“My first thought is I want to thank everybody in the community for trusting and collaborating with the school district,” Superintendent David Clendening said when the results came in. “It’s a great win for all of Franklin, for the teachers and the support staff.”</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>The referendum, or question on the ballot, asked voters to approve a 23 cent tax hike for every $100 of assessed property value. The tax rate is applied after all applicable deductions are taken off the value of your home.</p><p>The approval means the district will be able to raise $3.5 million per year from property taxes. With that money, Franklin schools aims to raise base teacher salary from $37,500 to $40,000 and increase salaries for support staff by 10 to 12 percent, pending contract negotiations which will start in September, Clendening said.</p><p>The money will also help fund counselors who will serve about 300 students struggling with mental health issues who aren’t assisted by programs such as Adult and Child, which is limited to low-income families.</p><p>The current base teaching salary at Franklin schools is lower than that of Center Grove, Clark-Pleasant and Greenwood schools, and one of Clendening’s main objectives was to remain competitive with other districts, he said. Students need to be able to have the best teachers, the district has said.</p><p>The $40,000 figure matches the current base salary amount at Beech Grove, Clark-Pleasant and Indianapolis Public Schools.</p><p>With the tax hike, the owners of a $128,500 home will pay $118 more per year and the first property tax dollars will hit the district in June of 2020.</p><p>Although Franklin Schools administrators weren’t allowed to campaign, political action committee Friends of Franklin, a group of about 30 parents, community leaders and residents, formed in support of the referendum. The committee distributed signs, brochures and other promotional material to spread the word about the referendum. Ultimately, their efforts were successful.{div}The ballot issue in Franklin was what convinced a majority of the voters to come to the Johnson County REMC voting center, said inspector Angie Turnmire. Though only about 150 voters had come to vote at the center by about 4:30 p.m. on Election Day, almost everyone mentioned their interest in both sides of the school issue.{/div}“They really want to vote for that. People have said they’ve come in just for that reason, that wouldn’t have voted otherwise,” Turnmire said.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="Franklin Schools Referendum" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>Yes;63%</p><p>No;37%</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]