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School referendum · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Crown Point Community Schools operating referendum

A new levy of up to $0.387 per $100 and $19.75 million a year for 8 years (2027-2034). The district says it replaces the 18-cent levy renewed in May 2025. Ballot: +$648 for a $350,000 median home. On ballots in Crown Point Community School Corporation.

Who votes on it: Registered voters who live within the Crown Point Community School Corporation boundaries (Crown Point, Winfield and surrounding areas of Center and Winfield townships)

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What a vote means

A yes vote
District estimate for a $317,000 home: referendum tax of about $580 a year versus $274 now, $306 more. The resolution has no clause repealing the 2025 levy.
A no vote
The 2025 renewal (up to $0.1828) would be expected to continue through 2033, based on DLGF practice after failed votes elsewhere.

On the ballot

Read the question as it is printed, word for word
Shall Crown Point Community Schools increase property taxes paid to the School Corporation for no more than eight (8) years for the purpose of funding and sustaining educational and operational funding stability in response to reductions in property tax revenue, supporting essential health and safety initiatives, supporting and retaining teachers and staff, maintaining class sizes, student transportation, and funding academic and support programs to meet the educational needs of all students, by imposing a property tax rate that does not exceed $0.3870 and results in a maximum annual amount that does not exceed $19,750,000? If this operating referendum public question is approved by the voters, for a median residence of $350,000 the property's annual property tax bill would increase by $648 per year. The most recent operating referendum public question proposed by the school corporation was held in 2025 and passed.

In full

Crown Point asks voters to replace the 18.28-cent operating referendum they renewed in May 2025 with a larger one of up to 38.7 cents per $100 (up to $19.75 million a year) for 2027-2034. The district says SEA 1 is cutting its property tax revenue by about $4 million in 2026, rising toward $5 million by 2029, and that the new question adds student transportation to the teacher, class-size, arts, nurse and safety items the earlier referendums funded. If it fails, the 2025 levy stays in place through 2033 and the district says it would make further cuts, including 50-60 certified positions.

What is being asked for

Most it could charge
$0.3870 per $100 of net assessed value [1]
Most it could raise a year
$19,750,000 [1]
For how long
8 years
What it replaces
The district says this levy REPLACES (is not stacked on) the May 2025 renewal, approved at a maximum $0.1828 for eight years (2026-2033) [2][3][4]. The June 22, 2026 resolution itself sets a levy 'starting in 2027 through and including 2034' and contains no clause repealing the 2025 levy (OCR of the DLGF filing); the replacement is a district statement, not resolution text [6]. Indiana law does not automatically repeal an earlier levy when a later one passes; IC 20-46-1-19.5(b) allows one earlier levy plus one later levy in the same year [21]. If this question fails, the 2025 levy would be expected to continue through 2033 (see if_no).
On a median home
$350,000 (Lake County Auditor, rounded up to the next $50,000; corrected certification July 24, 2026) [1] — Ballot figure: +$648 per year, computed on the full $0.387 rate as if new [1]. Net vs. today (district estimate): for the actual median home of $317,000, the referendum portion would be about $580 a year at the new rate vs. $274 at the current 18 cents, a difference of $306 [2]. The district also projects the whole tax bill change for that home at +$7 in 2027 and -$265 in 2028 once SEA 1 deductions are counted [2] (district projection, not independently verified).

If it passes

  • The 2025 levy (max $0.1828) would be replaced by a levy up to $0.387 / $19.75 million a year for 2027-2034 [1][2][3].
  • The district has said publicly that the new levy replaces the 2025 levy; voters may wish to confirm how that will be carried out, because the resolution has no repeal clause and state law permits one earlier and one later levy at the same time (IC 20-46-1-19.5(b)) [2][3][6][21].
  • Uses per the plan: transportation $6.0M; academic and support programs $5.0M; health and safety $4.66M; teachers/staff and class sizes $3.0M [6]. The district says it is 'not requesting funds for new programs or positions, only to maintain current offerings' [2].
  • Cost: ballot +$648/yr on a $350,000 home (whole rate); net vs. today about +$306/yr for the actual $317,000 median home (district) [1][2].
  • Referendum taxes are outside the caps [5].

If it fails

  • The 2025 renewal (up to $0.1828) would be expected to continue through 2033. No statute says a failed later question ends an earlier approved levy, and DLGF practice after failed renewals in Hammond and Lake Station (Nov 2023) was to keep certifying the existing levy to its original end date. IC 20-46-1-19(a)(1) ('the school corporation may not make any levy for its operating referendum tax levy fund'), read alone, could suggest otherwise; no DLGF memo or court ruling addressing this was found [21][22].
  • District's stated first-year cuts: Operations Fund cut 10%, falling 'heavily on transportation'; Education Fund transfer to operations raised from 7.5% to the 15% maximum, eliminating 'an estimated 50–60 certified positions, including teachers and administrators'; Referendum Fund cut 10% (an estimated 10-15 positions); further cuts each year as SEA 1 losses grow through 2029 [2].
  • Taxes: the referendum portion of the bill stays at the 18-cent level instead of rising [2].
  • Re-try: no new referendum for 700 days (350 with a petition) after a failed vote, and only at a general election, so November 2028 [5][21].

How it got on the ballot

  • June 22, 2026: the board approved Resolution #876 placing the operating referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot 'to recover the losses the district will incur under Senate Enrolled Act 1'; the district's recap says 'If passed, it replaces the previous referendum renewal from 2025' [3]. The vote count is not stated in the published recap (gap).
  • DLGF received the resolution June 30, 2026 and a correction July 24, 2026 (the auditor's corrected median-home increase is $648; the June resolution had shown $684) [1][6].
  • DLGF approved the language July 30, 2026 (Final Determination No. 26-034-REF) [1].
  • Spending plan (2027): total $18,657,229, of which $2,052 projected to participating charter schools (Discovery Charter School) and $18,655,177 to the district; uses: student transportation $6,000,000; academic and support programs $5,000,000; health and safety $4,655,177; teachers/staff and class sizes $3,000,000 [6].
  • Sept. 28, 2026 public hearing on the 2027 budget and referendum: the district cited $7.3 million in cuts made the prior year, per-pupil funding ranking 342nd of 376 in the education fund, and SEA 1 losses of about $2 million in 2025 and nearly $4 million in 2026 [2].
  • Why not ask for more in 2025? The district says the 2025 rate was set before SEA 1's effects were known and the board lowered it from 21 cents to 18 cents [2][4].
  • Open legal question (no conclusion drawn): IC 20-46-1-19.5(a) says, 'Subject to section 8(d) of this chapter, if a referendum is approved by the voters in a school corporation under this chapter in a calendar year, another referendum may not be placed on the ballot in the school corporation under this chapter in the following calendar year.' Crown Point's renewal was approved in May 2025 and this question is on the 2026 ballot. DLGF's determination notes 'The Corporation previously held a referendum in 2025, which passed' but does not discuss section 19.5(a); DLGF's review covers compliance of the language with IC 20-46-1-10 [1][21]. How the district, county or DLGF addressed this was not found.

The district's own numbers

  • Enrollment: 8,705 (2018-19) to 9,289 (2025-26), +6.7% [15]. The district says growth is now 'minimal' and special education enrollment grew over 31-34% in five years [2][4].
  • Fall 2025: 14 transfers in, 303 transfers out, 666 Choice Scholarship (voucher) students with legal settlement in the district (IDOE transfer report, as compiled) [16].
  • 2026 certified rates: Debt Service $0.6781, Operations $0.2578, Referendum $0.1828 (total $1.1187); Referendum levy $9.08 million; operations CNAV $4.56 billion (up 26.7% from $3.59 billion in 2023) [17].
  • Referendum rate history: $0.21 (2023), $0.2063 (2024), $0.1828 (2025 and 2026) [17].
  • LSA estimate (SEA 1): net levy -$3,116,870 (2026, -6.1%), -$3,754,300 (2027, -7.1%), -$6,296,840 (2028, -11.5%) vs. prior law [18]. Lake County's local income tax property tax relief credit (1% rate) is scheduled to end (delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210-2026), which the district cites [2][19].
  • District: operations property tax revenue about $9.7 million vs. about $10 million for transportation, utilities and buses; 80 buses and about 1 million miles a year; 7,600 students outside the walk zone [2].
  • District budget actions: April 2026 staffing changes worth about $4.5 million in the 2027 budget, including 12 unreplaced teacher departures and 21 central/departmental positions; June 2026 rainy-day appropriation to the education fund (Resolution #875) [4][3].
  • 2027 advertised maximum budget across four funds: $140,789,316 vs. nearly $145 million actual 2025 spending [2].
  • Charter sharing: as a Lake County referendum after May 10, 2023, it must be shared with participating charters (projected $2,052 in 2027) [6].

What came before

  • May 3, 2011: first operating referendum, PASSED (DLGF historic list) [7].
  • May 2018: renewal for 7 years at up to $0.21 (2019-2025), PASSED: Yes 4,716 (70.54%), No 1,970 (29.46%) [8][9]. DLGF certified about $5.90 million for 2019 at $0.21 [10].
  • May 6, 2025: renewal for 8 years while lowering the maximum rate from $0.21 to $0.1828; the ballot said it would raise the average residential school tax 21.83% if extended. PASSED: Yes 2,687 (82.88%), No 555 (17.12%) (Lake County election-night summary; DLGF lists 'PASSED (certified)') [11][12][7].
  • 2025 renewal spending plan: $8,436,537 a year for academic programs ($4.1M), class sizes ($2.24M), teacher retention ($0.5M) and safety ($1.60M) [13].
  • No Crown Point controlled-project (construction) referendum appears on DLGF's list since 2009 [14].

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.

For

  • Superintendent Dr. Terrill and CFO Matt Ruess (Sept. 28 hearing): the referendum 'is the district's only way to make up the loss' from SEA 1 [2].
  • District FAQ: 'We had no way of knowing that legislators’ decisions would undermine our community’s choice to support our schools' [4].
  • Friends of Crown Point Schools (campaign committee; its site lists a chairman and treasurer) runs supportcpschools.com; registration with the Lake County election board was not verified [20].

Against

  • No organized opposition committee or public statements of opposition were found in this review.
  • Context: 17.1% voted no on the smaller 2025 renewal [11].

Questions worth asking

  • What rate does the board plan to levy in 2027 and later years (the $0.387 is a maximum)?
  • How was the $306 net figure computed, and what does it assume about SEA 1 deductions in 2027-2034?
  • If the question fails, which transportation services would be reduced first?
  • How much of the $6 million for transportation replaces Operations Fund money vs. adds service?
  • What is the current rainy-day and education fund cash balance after the June 2026 appropriation?

What we could not find

  • Board vote count on Resolution #876 not found (recap says 'approved').
  • Vote totals for the 2011 referendum not found.
  • 2025 vote totals are from the Lake County summary printed on election night (May 6, 2025); DLGF lists the result as certified.
  • No property-class breakdown (farm/rental/business).
  • Open legal question under IC 20-46-1-19.5(a) (approval in 2025, new question in 2026). Section 19.5(a) has no replacement exception. DLGF's determination, the board's resolution and spending plan, and the Lake County ballot page (all checked Oct. 11, 2026) do not mention it, and no attorney general opinion, election board ruling or court challenge was found. Whether it bars the question, and who could enforce it, is a question for counsel.
  • Resolution #876 contains no explicit repeal of the 2025 levy; how the replacement will be implemented was not found in writing beyond district statements.

Sources

Researched Sunday, October 11, 2026

  1. Findings and Final Determination, No. 26-034-REF (Crown Point CSC) (Indiana DLGF)
  2. Board Meeting Recap - September 2026 (Sept. 28 public hearing on 2027 budget and referendum) (Crown Point Community School Corporation)
  3. Board Meeting Recap - June 2026 (Resolution #876) (Crown Point Community School Corporation)
  4. Budget Information and FAQs (Crown Point Community School Corporation)
  5. Legislative Changes to Property Tax Referenda and Controlled Projects (memo) (Indiana DLGF)
  6. Crown Point 2026 referendum resolution documentation and revenue spending plan (Crown Point CSC via DLGF)
  7. Historic School Tax Levy Referenda (Indiana DLGF)
  8. Findings and Final Determination (amended), Crown Point operating referendum, May 2018 (Indiana DLGF)
  9. 2018 Primary Election Summary (Public Question Crown Point) (Lake County Board of Elections and Registration)
  10. Estimated Referendum Levy, Crown Point CSC (2018 referendum) (Indiana DLGF)
  11. 2025 Special Election Summary (Public Question - Crown Point) (Lake County Board of Elections and Registration)
  12. Findings and Final Determination, Crown Point operating referendum, May 2025 (Indiana DLGF)
  13. Crown Point 2025 referendum revenue spending plan (Indiana DLGF)
  14. Historic Controlled Project Referenda (Indiana DLGF)
  15. Corporation Enrollment by Grade 2006-2026 (Indiana Department of Education)
  16. Fall 2025-2026 Public Corporation Transfer Report (Indiana Department of Education)
  17. Certified Budget, Levy, CNAV and Rate by Fund (2023-2026 workbooks) (Indiana DLGF)
  18. SB 1 (2025) Estimated Net Levies, Changes from Baseline, by unit (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)
  19. Fiscal Impact Statement, HEA 1210-2026 (enrolled) (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)
  20. Support Crown Point Schools (campaign site) (Friends of Crown Point Schools)
  21. Indiana Code Title 20 (IC 20-46-1-19, 20-46-1-19.5) (Indiana General Assembly)
  22. Certified Budget, Levy, CNAV and Rate by Fund, 2024 (Hammond and Lake Station referendum levies after failed 2023 renewals) (Indiana DLGF)
What's included
the U.S. House, statewide offices, every Indiana House and Senate district on the ballot, Indiana's statewide public questions and judicial retention questions, and county, township, city, town and school board races from the Indiana Election Division's candidate list.
Everything else
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: IndianaVoters.in.gov.
Candidate lists
As of Sunday, October 18, 2026.
At the polls
Indiana law lets you bring a list of candidates and public questions into the polling place, including one stored on your phone, as long as you don't electioneer. IC 3-11-8-18.5

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.