Anderson Community Schools operating referendum renewal

What a vote means

A yes vote

Keeps the $0.1077 rate already on bills, so the referendum part of today's bill does not change (our computation from DLGF certified rates).

A no vote

The 2018 levy's last year is 2026, so the referendum tax ends in 2027: $54 a year less for a $100,000 median home (ballot). The district has warned of cuts to courses and busing.

On the ballot

In full

Anderson Community Schools is asking voters to keep, for eight more years (2027-2034), the operating referendum tax that voters approved in May 2018. The rate would stay at 10.77 cents per $100 of assessed value and raise up to about $2.9 million a year. The 2018 levy is in its last year, so if this question fails the tax ends after 2026. The district says the money is needed because of a structural budget deficit driven by property tax caps, SEA 1 (2025) and, from 2028, required sharing of operations money with charter schools; it says renewal reduces the deficit but does not close it.

What is being asked for

Most it could charge

$0.1077 per $100 of assessed value, the same rate approved in May 2018 ^[1][2]

Most it could raise a year

$2,903,078 ^[1][2]

For how long

8 years

What it replaces

Renews the operating referendum approved May 8, 2018 ($0.1077 per $100). DLGF certified that levy could be collected through 2026. A YES continues it for 2027-2034 ^[2][4][6]

On a median home

$100,000 (Madison County Auditor certification) ^[1][3] — Ballot figure (DLGF determination): if NOT approved, the bill on a $100,000 median home would DECREASE by $54 a year ^[1][3]. Net change vs. today if YES (our computation from DLGF certified rates): $0, since the same $0.1077 rate has been on bills since 2019 and the 2026 levy is already at the $2,903,078 cap (DLGF certified 2026 rate $0.1077) ^[9]. The district puts the average cost at $53.85 a year ^[7]

If it passes

• Net change vs. today: none. The $0.1077 rate on 2026 bills simply continues for 2027-2034 (DLGF 2026 certified rate; district FAQ) ^[7][9]
• The 2018 rate of $0.1077 continues for 2027-2034, up to $2,903,078 a year; there is no increase from current referendum taxes ^[1][2][7]
• Revenue spending plan (adopted June 8, 2026): $1,451,539 a year for academic and support programs and $1,451,539 for operational needs ^[2]
• The district's FAQ says the money will help protect student transportation, utilities and insurance, building operations, safety and daily school needs, and services that support teaching and learning ^[7]
• District projection: even with renewal, a 2028 deficit of about $5.35 million remains, so ACS says it will still reduce costs (building use, transportation, staffing through attrition, vendor contracts, energy and insurance) ^[8]
• Charter sharing: the resolution says ACS does not plan to share this levy with charters. Under IC 20-46-1-22 mandatory statewide sharing applies only to referendum levies first imposed for taxes due in 2028 or later; this renewal begins with 2027 taxes, so it is not subject to that section. ACS's separate Operations Fund levy will be shared from 2028 ^[2][15]
• Referendum taxes are outside the 1%/2%/3% caps, so capped homeowners pay the full referendum rate ^[10][15]

If it fails

• Timing: the 2018 levy's last year is taxes due in 2026 (DLGF certification 'through 2026'). A NO means the referendum tax disappears from bills starting with 2027 taxes: -$54 for the $100,000 median home per the ballot ^[1][4]
• The referendum levy ends after taxes due in 2026; the median $100,000 home would pay $54 less a year starting in 2027 ^[1][3]
• ACS says a failed renewal would add $2.9 million to the yearly deficit and force 'deeper and swifter cuts' to staffing and program offerings; the projected 2028 deficit would be about $8.25 million ^[7][8]
• Superintendent Joe Cronk said at a public meeting that failure could bring 'a reduction in curriculum offerings, larger class sizes, drops to transportation, less transportation to homes for after-school events, less programing after school, and some extracurricular activities being curtailed' ^[17]
• No specific list of cuts tied to a NO vote was published in the sources reviewed
• Because SEA 1 limits referendums to general elections, the earliest a new question could appear is November 2028 (and a failed question triggers a 700-day wait, or 350 days with a petition) ^[15]

How it got on the ballot

• The Board of School Trustees adopted Resolution No. 2026-20 on June 8, 2026 by unanimous vote, all seven members present (Mandy Webb, Dr. Patrick Hill, Holly Renz, JoAnna Collette, Robert Bookhart, Rodney Chamberlain, Martha Green) ^[2]
• The resolution says that, based on revenue calculations for 2027-2034, the district 'will not be able to carry out its public educational duty unless it continues to annually imposes a referendum tax levy' ^[2]
• The Madison County Auditor certified the median home value ($100,000) and the $54 decrease on May 29, 2026 ^[3]
• DLGF received the resolution June 10, 2026 and approved the ballot language June 12, 2026 (No. 26-005-REF) ^[1]
• On June 8, 2026 board member JoAnna Collette presented a deficit projection: current annual deficit about $6.1 million (Education Fund about $5.0 million, Operations Fund about $1.1 million); at least $11.0 million lost over 8 years to state property tax changes and $12.8 million to charter school revenue sharing; a 2028 deficit of about $8.25 million without the referendum and $5.35 million with it ^[7][8]
• The Madison County Election Board voted to place the Anderson and Elwood school questions (and a town of Edgewood question) on the November ballot (Herald Bulletin; only the free opening lines were read) ^[11]

The district's own numbers

• Enrollment (IDOE): 6,874 in 2018-19 and 6,032 in 2025-26 (-12.2%) ^[13]
• Fall 2025 transfers (IDOE): 9,887 state-funded students live in the district but only 5,750 attend ACS; 3,321 transferred out to other public schools or charters, 27 transferred in, and 816 used Choice vouchers, a net loss of 4,110 resident students ^[14]
• Charter attendance: 905 ACS-resident students attended charters in fall 2025, including 723 at Anderson Preparatory Academy (a brick-and-mortar charter), so ACS meets the 100-student threshold for statewide Operations Fund sharing with charters from 2028 (IC 20-46-8-12) ^[14][15]
• Parent-choice transfers out (fall 2025): 2,302, largest to Frankton-Lapel (691), Daleville (472) and South Madison (448) ^[14]
• Net assessed value: $2.01 billion (2022) to $2.70 billion (2026), +34% ^[9]
• 2026 certified school tax rate $1.3282 per $100: Operations $0.6822, Debt Service $0.3363, Pension Debt $0.0935, Referendum Debt $0.1085, Operating Referendum $0.1077 ^[9]
• Circuit breaker (tax cap) losses, 2026: $7,238,604 of the $15,965,752 Operations Fund levy (45%) was not collectible, mostly from the 1%/2%/3% caps ($6,406,062) ^[10]
• SEA 1 (2025) LSA estimate: ACS net levy -$1.18 million (2026), -$1.34 million (2027), -$4.07 million (2028, -15.3%) compared with prior law ^[16]
• Teacher pay, cash balances and rainy-day fund figures were not found in the sources reviewed (see gaps)

What came before

• Nov 2, 2010: ACS asked for an operating levy of $0.55 per $100. It FAILED ^[5]
• May 8, 2018: operating referendum, $0.1077 per $100 for 8 years 'for the purpose of funding daily operational needs including retaining and compensating teachers and employees, maintaining class sizes and funding academic and support programs.' PASSED, 6,796 yes to 4,487 no (60.2% yes) ^[4][6]
• May 8, 2018: construction referendum (ACS Moving Forward Project, not more than $41,000,000, debt rate increase of up to $0.2055) for work at the former Eastside Middle School, Erskine, Tenth Street and Valley Grove elementaries, Highland Middle School and Anderson High School. PASSED, 6,882 yes to 4,424 no ^[6][12]
• After the 2018 vote: DLGF estimated the operating levy at about $1,825,870 in 2019 and authorized it through 2026 ^[4]. The district says it spent $12.6 million of operating-referendum money over 2019-2026 on retaining and paying staff, class sizes and academic support ^[7]
• Levied rate history (DLGF): $0.1077 in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2026; $0.1034 in 2025. Levy grew from $2,164,465 (2022) to $2,903,078 (2026) as assessed value rose ^[9]
• The district says the 2018 construction referendum 'has successfully concluded' and is not up for renewal; DLGF still certified a 2026 referendum debt-service levy of $2,924,642 ($0.1085) for those bonds ^[7][9]
• The district says that since Highland High School closed in 2009-10 it has about 20% fewer full-time employees, and two central-office positions are not being refilled ^[7]

What each side says

Other people's words and claims, not ours, each with the page it came from. Where we found no organised campaign on a side, the page says so rather than inventing one.

Questions worth asking

• If renewal passes and a $5.35 million deficit remains in 2028, which specific cuts are planned, and when?
• How much will ACS share with Anderson Preparatory Academy and other charters from its Operations Fund in 2028, and how was the $12.8 million eight-year estimate calculated?
• How was the $12.6 million from the 2018 referendum spent year by year, and where is that reported?
• How was the certified $54 figure for a $100,000 home calculated (which deductions were assumed), and what is the referendum portion of my own tax bill?
• What are the Education and Operations fund cash balances today, and how many months of expenses do they cover?

What we could not find

• Herald Bulletin articles on the renewal are paywalled; only their free opening lines were used. The district's reprint of the public-meeting article (acsc.net) was used instead; its date was not shown on the page
• Teacher salary data, cash balances and rainy-day fund balances were not located
• Registration of the Anderson Community Schools Referendum PAC with the Madison County Election Board was not verified
• The method behind the certified $54 figure was not shown in the auditor's posted worksheet text
• 2010 vote totals and percentages were not found in a freely readable source; the DLGF list gives only the result

Sources