Michigan City Area Schools operating referendum

What a vote means

A yes vote

Adds up to $260 a year ($22 a month) for a $200,000 median home (ballot). With no levy today, that is the full change at the maximum (our reading).

A no vote

No new tax. The district says it would face difficult decisions on staffing, programs and transportation, and could consider consolidating schools sooner.

On the ballot

In full

Michigan City Area Schools asks for its first operating referendum since a failed 2013 attempt: up to 29.98 cents per $100, up to $10 million a year, for 2027-2034, branded the 'Maximize Community and Students (MCAS) initiative.' The district cites SEA 1 losses of about $2.56 million over 2026-2028, a 14.5% enrollment decline since 2018-19 and rising costs, and says it has already cut about $3 million. If it fails, the district says it could accelerate school consolidation and reduce transportation, programs and staff.

What is being asked for

Most it could charge

$0.2998 per $100 ^[1]

Most it could raise a year

$10,000,000 ^[1]

For how long

8 years

What it replaces

Nothing; MCAS has no referendum fund ('Currently, MCAS has been operating without a Referendum Fund') ^[2]. 2026 certified rates: Debt Service $0.4102, Operations $0.4139 ^[5].

On a median home

$200,000 (LaPorte and Porter County Auditors) ^[1] — Ballot figure: +$260 per year at the maximum ($22 a month per the district) ^[1][2]. Net change vs. today (our reading of DLGF 2026 certified rates, which show no referendum fund): the same +$260 at the maximum; the district notes actual impact varies with tax caps and property circumstances ^[2].

On other property

No property-class breakdown found. Referendum taxes are outside the 1%/2%/3% caps ^[6].

If it passes

• Levy up to $0.2998 / $10M a year, 2027-2034 ^[1][3].
• Uses: academic programs $6.5M; educationally related programs including transportation $2.0M; safety and security $1.5M ^[4].
• District FAQ says referendum dollars would fund STEM, career and technical education, transportation, educator recruitment and retention, safety, mental health, extracurriculars and custodial services, and 'cannot be used for buildings, athletic facilities, or construction projects' ^[2]. (The filed spending plan lists 'enhanced safety capital investments' under safety ^[4].)
• Cost: +$260/yr for a $200,000 median home at the maximum ^[1]. Outside the caps ^[6].

If it fails

• No new tax ^[5].
• District FAQ: leaders 'would likely need to make difficult decisions involving staffing, programs, operations, and potentially school consolidations sooner than currently anticipated'; possible reductions include transportation, student services, programs, staffing, delayed purchases, building utilization reviews and 'Accelerated consideration of school consolidation or building reconfiguration plans' ^[2].
• Re-try: November 2028 general election ^[6].

How it got on the ballot

• June 30, 2026: the board adopted the Operating Referendum Authorizing Resolution 7-0 (motion Gresham, second Stewart), with all seven members present ^[3].
• DLGF received the resolution July 1, 2026 and a revised ballot question July 6; it approved the revised language July 6, 2026 (No. 26-035-REF) ^[1]. The approved wording differs slightly from the June 30 resolution text ^[1][3].
• Spending plan (2027 estimate $10,000,000): academic programs $6,500,000 (class sizes, career/technical, teacher recruitment and retention, literacy); educationally related programs $2,000,000 (transportation, extracurriculars, support services); safety and security $1,500,000 (SROs, mental health and behavioral supports, 'enhanced safety capital investments') ^[4].
• The resolution says the district 'does not plan to distribute any revenue from the referendum levy to a charter school' ^[3].
• Community meetings July, August and Sept. 23, 2026; a final meeting is scheduled Oct. 22 at Krueger Middle School ^[2].

The district's own numbers

• Enrollment: 5,574 (2018-19) to 4,763 (2025-26), -14.5% ^[10].
• Fall 2025: 6,155 state-funded students with legal settlement; 45 transfers in, 983 transfers out, 569 Choice Scholarship students (IDOE transfer report, as compiled) ^[11].
• 2026 certified rates: Debt Service $0.4102, Operations $0.4139; combined CNAV about $3.73 billion (LaPorte $3.38B + Porter $0.35B), up 12% from 2023 ^[5].
• SEA 1 (district citing state estimates): -$821,200 (2026), -$849,040 (2027), -$893,140 (2028), about $2.56 million over three years ^[2]; these match LSA's unit estimates (-3.3% to -3.4%) ^[12].
• District says it has 'Reduced approximately $3 million in expenditures' and eliminated or left positions vacant ^[2].

What came before

• November 2013: operating referendum, 7 years at up to $0.17, FAILED (DLGF; vote totals not found) ^[7][8].
• No MCAS construction referendum appears on DLGF's list since 2009 ^[9].
• Because the 2013 vote was more than five years ago, the ballot does not mention it ^[1].

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

• Which schools could be consolidated, and on what timeline, with or without the referendum?
• What are the 'enhanced safety capital investments' in the spending plan, given the FAQ says no construction?
• What rate would the board levy in 2027?
• How much of the $2 million for 'educationally related programs' goes to transportation?
• How do the 983 transfers out and 569 voucher students affect the budget outlook?

What we could not find

• 2013 vote totals not found (LaPorte/Porter results archives not located).
• No cash-balance or rainy-day figures found.
• Board minutes for June 30, 2026 not published on BoardDocs; vote from DLGF filing.
• No property-class tax breakdown.

Sources