Most measures see success in final special election referenda cycle
Indiana voters delivered sweeping support for most school funding referenda in the November 4 special election, approving operating levy renewals in five districts and rejecting one new request. This marks an 83% passing rate in the final special election cycle for school referenda in the state.
Avon Community School Corporation secured a high-profile victory, renewing its operating levy at a lower rate despite public opposition from Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith (R). About 65% of voters backed the eight-year, $0.33-per-$100 levy, which will generate an estimated $14.3 million annually.
LG Beckwith, who spent time personally canvassing against the measure and urging voters online to reject it, argued the district should tighten its budget, and taxpayers need relief. The Lieutenant Governor, an often vocal supporter of property tax reduction efforts, went further in his sentiments toward Avon, also stating he didn’t support any schools asking for more property tax dollars from residents in this current climate, where Hoosiers have asked for relief from rising taxes. Avon district officials blasted his involvement as political intrusion into a local decision . . . and voters sided with the schools.
In Northwest Indiana, voters renewed operating levies in the Lake Central School Corporation, Duneland School Corporation, and Hanover School Corporation. Lake Central and Duneland won approval to increase rates, which will help sustain teacher staffing, academic programs, and school security.
Hanover’s referendum passed by a narrower margin among voters who came to the polls, but will continue its current levy to support transportation, class size control, and teacher retention.
Cannelton City Schools, a tiny Perry County district, also easily renewed its levy. The vote comes months after the district’s superintendent resigned and as Cannelton continues trying to stabilize operations for roughly 200 students.
The lone defeat came in Allen County, where Northwest Allen County Schools saw 54% of voters who turned out reject its proposal for a new, eight-year operating levy. Superintendent Wayne Barker, to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, calls the outcome “crushing,” and warns the district will now scale back plans for added staff, personalized learning programs, and improved teacher pay. With starting salaries stuck at $47,000 (the lowest in Allen County), administrators expect retention pressures to grow.
“I feel for our staff, and I feel for our students. This is going to take opportunities away from them,” Superintendent Barker laments.
Before the vote, Barker had described his district as underfunded by about $8 million annually compared with similar districts. “I see what can happen as a result of this operating referendum, and I see what can happen if it doesn’t pass, and I don’t like what that future is for Northwest Allen County Schools if it’s not successful,” the 2023 Indiana Superintendent of the Year asserted during a final presentation he gave at the last NACS Board of Trustees meeting before Election Day. “It means a great deal to me, because I think for people to meet an expectation for what Northwest Allen County Schools is, we’re going to need to pass this operating referendum, or the district’s going to look very different in the future.”
Notably, the only referendum that failed to win voter approval was the new one.
We saw similar results during the May election this year, and also last November. In May, all operating referenda renewals on ballots in districts that held an election succeeded, while the one new referendum proposed by Central Noble Community Schools failed, overwhelmingly.
Your favorite education newsletter predicted last year that the latest trend in referendum voting could be a sign of the times, as Republican lawmakers prepared to push property tax relief and reform at the State House . . . which culminated in SEA 1-2025. Hoosier voters appear to have less of an appetite to approve property tax increases in the current climate, though renewals tend to continue to do very well, so far . . . but that could change if more people with the same mindset as Lt. Governor Beckwith jump on board to campaign against referenda in various school districts around the state.
And from what we’re hearing, you can expect to see an unprecedented number of schools interested in placing referenda on ballots next November . . .
The key to keep in mind here is the new provisions in SEA 1 regarding property tax relief and referenda timing. Legislative Services Agency projected during session that the new law could reduce school property-tax revenue statewide by about $744.4 million through mid-2028.
These November 4 measures were also final school referenda allowed on an off-year special election ballot. Under SEA 1, future school referenda must appear only during general elections in even-numbered years, starting in 2026. Several districts moved quickly this summer to meet the cutoff.
School districts are scrambling to figure out how to handle expected revenue loss from the property tax law starting next year, with several warning they will have to cut back critical services. Property tax revenue is primarily used to fund the operating budgets of school corporations, which include transportation and facility services. Districts also tend to use operating referenda funds to supplement teacher raises and retention and recruitment efforts.
With the expected revenue losses, combined with the new rule on school referenda timing, we’re picking up that roughly 80 to 100 school districts are considering ballot measures for November 2026, which is close to one-third of all the public schools in Indiana.
Superintendent Barker confirmed these numbers when speaking to WANE-TV WANE 15 in Fort Wayne this week. He suggested his district’s failed referendum could foreshadow what’s next for Indiana education: a surge of districts forced to seek local tax hikes as the new state property-tax cuts take effect.
“I was in a meeting with superintendents last week and I’ve heard upwards of almost 100 operating referendums could be on the ballot next fall of ‘26,” Barker reveals. “Many of them are going to be totally related to the impact of Senate Enrolled Act 1 and the negative impact that’s going to have on those districts.”
After learning this, WANE-TV surveyed in an anonymous poll 50 of the largest Indiana school districts around the state. Of 17 superintendents who answered, nearly all said they were watching the Northwest Allen results closely and believe SEA 1 will force more districts to pursue local referenda. Some said their boards are already preparing to ask voters for new funding in 2026.
The fate of the NACS referendum, plus the new referenda proposed in the last two election cycles, could be a harbinger of what’s to come from dozens of potential ballot measures we’ll likely see from schools next November.
Important too, next November will be the first time Indiana will see partisan school board races, under a law passed in the 2025 session as well. Expect referenda debate to creep into those races, especially as school finances and spending could be the hot topic of next year’s school board election cycle, given the ongoing property tax discussions.
Just based on recent history, recent history, districts pursuing new referenda can expect an uphill climb to earn voter approval, and they may have to deal with fierce opposition campaigns, as NACS did this fall, and Avon in its renewal process. Don’t be surprised to see elected officials and school board candidates hopping on referenda campaigns in their school districts, as voters may be looking to discern where they stand on the issue.
As we’ve been stating for years now as well, May referenda quintessentially tended to fare better than November referenda (which may be due in part to lower turnout in primary elections, and typically more informed voters who choose to vote in primary elections). May referenda in total had seen an average 70% success rate. Now, by our math, following this November’s election, since 2009, 60.7% of November operating referenda have passed.
In total, 186 out of 291 referenda (63.9%) have passed since school referenda were first placed on ballots in Indiana. We now expect to see that number increased greatly next fall.
Here’s the rundown of the specific results from the November 4 election:
Avon Community School Corporation: Hendricks County
Type: Operating (renewal from 2018)
Rate: $0.33 per $100 of assessed property value for eight years
Annual revenue: $14.3 million
Spending plan: Maintain reduced class sizes ($8.3 million), competitive teacher compensation and teacher retention ($1.1 million), and instructional support for students ($4.8 million).
Result: PASSED
Cannelton City School Corporation: Perry County
Type: Operating (renewal from 2018)
Rate: $0.41 per $100 of assessed property value for seven years
Annual revenue: Not provided
Spending plan: Operating costs and programming for students.
Result: PASSED
Duneland School Corporation: Porter County
Type: Operating (renewal from 2019)
Rate: $0.39 per $100 of assessed property value for eight years
Annual revenue: $16.2 million
Spending plan: Recruitment and retention of teachers ($3.3 million), student health and safety initiatives ($2.3 million), maintaining class sizes ($8 million), and advancing academic programs ($2.4 million).
Result: PASSED
Hanover School Corporation: Lake County
Type: Operating (renewal from 2020 extension)
Rate: $0.29 per $100 of assessed property value for eight years
Annual revenue: $5.2 million
Spending plan: Transportation ($1.5 million), managing class sizes ($2.5 million), teacher retention ($409,642), and student safety and school security ($759,526).
Result: PASSED
Lake Central School Corporation: Lake County
Type: Operating (renewal from 2018)
Rate: $0.26 per $100 of assessed property value for eight years
Annual revenue: $17.8 million
Spending plan: Recruitment and retention of teachers and staff ($12.2 million), student health and safety initiatives ($1.7 million), and maintaining class sizes ($2 million) and academic programs ($1.7 million).
Result: PASSED
Northwest Allen County Schools: Allen County
Type: Operating
Rate: $0.28 per $100 of assessed property value for eight years
Annual revenue: $12.6 million
Spending plan: Educational instruction and staffing at a Career and Technical Education facility ($2.2 million); retention and attraction of teachers, support staff, and administrators ($5.1 million); school safety and well-being staffing and initiatives (1.3 million); instructional support staffing at all buildings ($2.7 million); and district-wide staffing ($870,000).
Result: FAILED