Northeast Dubois answers questions in final public meeting before referendum
Northeast Dubois answered a few questions from residents affected by the referendum question during a public meeting Monday night.
About 30 people attended the meeting hosted by Superintendent Bill Hochgesang. He gave a quick presentation of the steps the school corporation has taken over the past four years to cut the budget. Despite coming up with about $850,000 in cuts in four years, the deficit continued to expand as funding for the school corporation dwindled due to the state’s funding formula.
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The corporation is asking the voters to support a referendum allowing the corporation to increase the property tax levy up to 18 cents per $100 of assessed value to fund the general fund for the corporation. The requested increase will cover the current and future budget shortfall, extracurricular and coaching salaries and staff retention, recruitment and development.
A couple of attendees at the meeting asked why the school corporation planned on continuing to support Celestine Elementary rather than add to and renovate Dubois Elementary to accommodate all the elementary students. Hochgesang admitted the referendum would not necessarily save Celestine; that largely depends on enrollment.
The corporation decided to go the referendum route due to the majority of respondents to the survey earlier this year being in support of keeping the school open.
Others questioned the need for extracurricular activities and the salaries paid to coaching staff. Hochgesang did not make any suggestions either way, but he did state that as the school corporation moves forward after the referendum, they will continue to strive to operate efficiently with the funding they have.
Some worried that the referendum would dump money into refurbishing Celestine Elementary but Hochgesang reassured them that was not the case as the general fund cannot pay for construction projects. Also, the referendum question does not ask for permission to use the funds for any projects at Celestine.
The question included on ballots for voters in Harbison 1 and 2, Marion 1 and 2, Columbia and Hall precincts appears as follows:
“For the seven (7) calendar years immediately following the holding of the referendum, shall the Northeast Dubois County School Corporation impose a property tax rate that does not exceed eighteen cents (0.18) 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 funding course options required for graduation, class sizes, extracurricular activities, and compensation for employees who provide educational programs?”
It must pass by a simple majority vote.
The next referendum-based event is a planned rally at the Dubois Park that will include a visit from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz. Details on the event below.
