Edinburgh Community Schools continued to weigh its options Tuesday during its first public meeting, dubbed "Referendum 101," regarding a potential property tax hike.
If Edinburgh schools chooses to pursue a referendum, its main priority would be to increase teacher salaries, Superintendent Doug Arnold said.
Currently at $36,100 for a starting teacher, Edinburgh’s teaching salaries are the second lowest in Johnson County after Indian Creek schools. Teachers made at least $38,885 at Center Grove schools last year, while teachers at Greenwood and Clark-Pleasant schools made at least $39,919 and $40,000 respectively.
The meeting came on the same day that more than 15,000 Indiana teachers protested at the Statehouse for higher wages, among other objectives. Arnold previously said some money from the referendum could go toward replacing old buses, repairing tennis courts, replacing an awning at the high school and working on heating and air. Securing higher pay for the district’s teachers, however, is his top priority, with or without a referendum, he said.
The district’s first meeting regarding the referendum in September was held illegally, after Edinburgh schools didn’t give notice it had changed its public works session to an executive session, or closed-door meeting.
With a budget of less than $10 million, less than any other Johnson County school district, Edinburgh schools has gotten to the point where the district’s first-ever referendum is certainly on the table. The budget constraints are further exacerbated by property tax caps in Indiana, which cost the district $315,000 in potential property tax revenue this year.
Property tax caps reduce the amount of money that school districts collect. Beginning with 2010 tax bills, the state of Indiana capped property tax rates at one percent for homestead properties, two percent for residential properties, agricultural land and long-term care facilities, and three percent for non-residential properties and personal property, according to the state Department of Local Government Finance.
Tuesday’s meeting served more of an educational purpose rather than one that dictated action on whether Edinburgh schools will have a referendum, as consultant Robin Winston, of The Winston/Terrell Group in Indianapolis, volunteered his time to educate the Edinburgh school board and members of the public on the building blocks of a referendum.
Winston has worked with schools on 53 referendums, 43 of which were successful. In Johnson County, he worked on the Center Grove Community Schools referendum, which would have secured $3.1 million per year in property taxes over the course of eight years for mental health services. That referendum failed when 64 percent of White River Township voters voted against it.
Often operations referendums, which include teacher salary increases, are successful. Another key to success involves being open and honest with the community, setting up a webpage with property tax calculators, answering questions and responding to criticism in an educated way, Winston said.
“One of the first words I learned to spell was ‘cat,’” Winston said of an acronym he uses. “Be consistent in everything you say, be accessible all the time and be transparent all the time.”
For now, the Edinburgh school board will consider its next steps, with at least some conversations likely between board members and community members. If school officials do pursue a referendum, they will have to make that decision by January for a May referendum or by July for a November referendum. They have not made any decisions on a target salary for teachers, or how much it wants to raise property taxes if it goes that route, Arnold said.
“It’s a decision not to be made lightly; it takes a lot of work,” Arnold said. “It’s a total community process and people need to understand no decision has been made at all. It we didn’t have concerns, we wouldn’t be talking about a referendum. That’s the board’s decision; big decisions.”
