With less than two months to go until White River township residents vote on a Center Grove schools referendum, a parent is gathering volunteers to support the effort of getting it passed.
Lisa Porat, who has a daughter at Center Grove schools, is in the process of establishing Support CG Students as a political-action committee. The group has a core of 10 to 15 volunteers who are equally invested in making sure the district can add mental health support and improve security at its schools, Porat said.
Those volunteers include business owners, parents and other people from the Center Grove area, she said.
“First and foremost I’m a mom, a clinical therapist, a business owner, a taxpayer and a volunteer. I see every day how much we have to address security and the mental health of kids in school,” Porat said.
“There’s a lot more social emotional needs now than children have ever faced. We’re seeing that. They need additional support and security measures. We’ve got to engage our kids and provide these resources early and often and help when they’re vulnerable before there’s a crisis.”
In November, White River Township voters will vote on a referendum question that would raise their property taxes by 11.5 cents for every $100 of assessed value if it passes, which would generate $24.8 million over the course of eight years starting in 2020. The owner of a $200,000 home would pay an additional $112 per year in property taxes.
State law says that a committee that works to support or defeat a candidate or public question on the ballot and raises or spends more than $100 must file as a political-action committee. The committee must file certain reports outlining the chairperson and secretary, and accounting for donations accepted or money raised, and how the funds were spent.
With the referendum money, Center Grove schools would pay to increase live monitoring of facilities, including a wall of footage at the Emergency Operations Center, set to open next September. Live monitoring would decrease response times from first responders, who would be able to have their eyes on what’s happening in the buildings at all times.
With live monitoring money, the district would also be able to pay for stop arm cameras on school buses, which could capture the license plates of drivers who break the law by passing stopped school buses. The referendum money would also pay additional counselors and expand mental health services at Center Grove schools.
Last week, Support CG Students conducted a volunteer event that about 30 people attended. Volunteers brainstormed ideas about the best ways to spread the word about the referendum. The group has not planned any campaign events yet, Porat said.
Johnson County education referendums have had recent success.
In November, 57 percent of voters in Clark and Pleasant townships passed a referendum for Clark-Pleasant schools, which allowed the district to create its own police department and increase mental health services, including hiring the district’s first mental health coordinator.
In May, 63 percent of voters in Needham, Franklin and Union townships voted in favor of a Franklin schools referendum, which will allow the school district to raise teacher and support staff salaries and hire a mental health coordinator and school-based therapists.
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For more information on how to volunteer or donate, how much a property tax increase would cost you and how Center Grove schools intends to use those property tax dollars, visit supportcgstudents.com.
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If the referendum makes it onto the fall ballot, voters in White River Township will be asked the following public question:
"For the eight (8) calendar years immediately following the holding of the referendum, shall the Center Grove Community School Corporation, Johnson County, Indiana, impose a property tax rate that does not exceed eleven and one-half cents ($0.1150) on each one hundred dollars ($100) of assessed valuation and that is in addition to all other property taxes imposed by the school corporation for the purpose of providing funding for (a) live monitoring of facilities, (b) improved security response time and deterrents, and (c) added mental health and additional classroom supports for students."
Source: Center Grove Community School Corp.
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Here is a look at what the additional $3.1 million a year would be spent on if it is approved by voters:
$1.15 million per year for mental health and classroom supports
- Additional mental health services and counselors
- Classroom behavioral support across all grade levels
- Additional staff focused on social emotional learning
$1.06 million per year for live monitoring
- Additional school safety officers
- Analytical cameras and software
- Live monitoring of facilities
- Cyber security monitoring and protection
- Bus stop arm cameras
$900,405 per year to improve response times and create deterrents
- Additional school resource officers
- Lockdown alert system
- Emergency alert system
Source: Center Grove Community School Corp.
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