Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. officials will ask voters to decide on an operations referendum projected to generate about $9.3 million per year in additional property tax revenue to be used to fund teacher and support staff salary increases, along with other needs.
The proposed referendum would increase property taxes by $0.195 per $100 of assessed value to around $1.05 starting in 2021, or a 23.5% increase compared to the current property tax rate, according to the proposed text of the referendum, which has not yet been approved by the BCSC school board.
The rate increase in the proposed referendum would apply to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural properties in BCSC’s tax district, which includes all of Bartholomew County except Flat Rock and Haw Creek Townships.
BCSC Superintendent Jim Roberts said the school corporation needs the additional funds, in large part, because the level of state funding BCSC receives is not enough to be competitive when attempting to retain teachers and other staff. More than 450 teachers have left the school corporation since 2014, often for higher-paying teaching jobs in other school districts, Roberts said.
“We see this referendum as an opportunity to address that situation,” Roberts said.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
