Property tax reforms in Indiana could have paved the way for “as many as 100 public school districts” to ask voters directly for more funding through referenda, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Advocates of the referendum approach argue public education is underfunded and taxpayers must cover the shortfall – estimated at $744 million through 2028 – because of Senate Enrolled Act 1, signed into law last year.
“When you adjust for inflation, we are actually spending at least $100 less per student now than we did 16 years ago, and that equates to about a 7% reduction in per pupil funding for public school students from the 2010-2011 school year until today,” Joel Hand of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education (ICPE) told the news outlet.
Hand, who is the group’s general counsel, lobbyist and co-founder, pointed to property tax caps in 2008 changing the way the state handled referenda – historically “through a petition and remonstrance process,” the Chronicle explained.
“Now, school districts are preparing to ask voters for support to offset reductions in property tax revenue, with only a 2% increase in K-12 funding provided in last year’s biennial budget.”
