Decatur Township schools operating referendum

What a vote means

A yes vote

Our computation: about $47 a year more for the median home than at the 2026 rate ($0.2277) if the full $0.269 is levied, and less if the board sets a lower rate.

A no vote

The 2019 levy stays through 2027, the district says. After that, about $8 million in cuts over two years, possibly including walk zones and after-school buses.

On the ballot

In full

Decatur Township is asking voters to swap its 2019 operating referendum for a new eight-year levy with a lower maximum rate (26.9 cents per $100, down from a 28.9-cent maximum) but a higher dollar cap of $9 million a year. The money pays mainly for buses, electricity, school resource officers, building repairs and two support staff. The district moved the vote up a year because of state tax changes that it says cut its property tax revenue by about $3 million in 2026, and because referendums are now allowed only in even-year November elections ^[1][2][3][5].

What is being asked for

Most it could charge

$0.2690 per $100 of assessed value ^[1]

Most it could raise a year

$9,000,000 ^[1]

For how long

8 years

What it replaces

Repeals and replaces the 2019 operating referendum (maximum $0.2890 per $100, for transportation, safety, maintenance and electricity), effective with taxes payable in 2027 ^[1][2][4]

On a median home

$250,000 (Marion County Auditor certification) ^[1] — +$306 per year on the ballot (statutory figure, counted as if no referendum tax existed). The district describes the measure as 'reduce and replace' because the new maximum rate ($0.269) is below the 2019 maximum ($0.289); the rate actually levied in 2026 was $0.2277, so the effect on a given bill depends on the rate the board sets each year ^[1][3][9] Net change vs. today (our computation on the net assessed value implied by the ballot figure, about $113,750): at the full $0.269 the referendum tax would be about $306 versus about $259 at the 2026 rate of $0.2277, roughly +$47 a year before credits; the district has not published a net figure ^[1][9]

If it passes

• Spending plan (about $8.3 million a year at $0.269 on 2026 values): student transportation $4.3 million (about 75 drivers, monitors and mechanics plus fuel); utilities $2.05 million (electricity); school safety $825,000 (three school resource officers and equipment); building maintenance $900,000; support services $250,000 (two Communities In Schools staff) ^[2].
• Charter schools: about $70,769 a year estimated, with the largest shares to Damar Charter Academy ($16,023) and Christel House Academy South and Herron Preparatory Academy ($6,676 each) ^[2].
• The new levy starts in 2027 and runs through 2034; the 2019 levy is repealed for taxes payable 2027 and later ^[2][3].
• Cost: ballot figure +$306 a year for a $250,000 home (statutory, as if no referendum tax existed). Compared with the 2019 maximum, the rate cap falls 2 cents; compared with the 2026 levied rate ($0.2277), the cap is higher. Referendum taxes are outside the 1/2/3% caps ^[1][10][16].

If it fails

• District officials say the 2019 referendum would remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2027, after which the budget would have to be reduced by about $8 million over two years (Fox59, citing the district) ^[3]. (No statute says a failed later question ends a levy voters already approved. After failed renewals in Hammond and Lake Station (Nov 2023), DLGF kept certifying the existing levy to its original end date. IC 20-46-1-19(a)(1) ('may not make any levy for its operating referendum tax levy fund'), read alone, could suggest otherwise; no DLGF memo or court ruling settles it ^[17][19].)
• Superintendent Scott Collins said that without referendum funds the district would have to consider walk zones and cutting after-school buses ^[5].
• Next chance: the November 2028 general election. Because the 2019 levy ends Dec. 31, 2027 (district statement), a question approved in 2028 could not start until 2029, leaving 2028 without referendum revenue ^[3][18].

How it got on the ballot

• July 7, 2026: the Board of Education adopted the resolution to repeal the 2019 levy and place the replacement question on the ballot; the filed copy does not show the vote count ^[2].
• DLGF received the resolution and Marion County Auditor certification July 7, 2026 and approved the ballot language the same day ^[1].
• The resolution cites reduced state distributions, the circuit-breaker credit, other credits beginning in 2025, and the expected drop in net assessed value from new deductions and exemptions (SEA 1); it says the district needs at least $8,579,786 a year for 2027-2034, with the rate cap based on a projected 2034 net assessed value of $3.19 billion ^[2].
• The board committed to review the amount needed each year and levy no more than needed plus a reasonable working cash balance ^[2].
• Chalkbeat reported in June 2026 that state law changes led the district to consider going to the ballot a year earlier than planned; Superintendent Scott Collins: 'We're trying to save dollars now so we don't have to ask for as much money in the future' ^[5].
• Two charter schools (Indiana Math and Science Academy, GEO Next Generation Academy) declined in writing to take part; 20 others are listed for estimated shares ^[2].

The district's own numbers

• Enrollment (IDOE): 6,810 (2018-19), 6,777 (2020-21), 6,654 (2023-24), 6,485 (2024-25), 6,503 (2025-26), down 4.5% ^[11].
• Students living in Decatur (fall 2025): 7,510 state-funded residents; 960 transferred out (116 to charter schools) and 175 in; 368 used Choice Scholarships ^[12].
• Transportation: more than 70% of students ride buses daily; the 2026 transportation budget is about $6.7 million; for 2026-27 the district cut bell schedules from six to three to run fewer routes ^[5].
• District leaders expected about $3 million less in property taxes in 2026 because of state tax changes ^[5]; incumbent board member Dale Henson cited 'a 3-million-dollar reduction in 2026' ^[13].
• 2027 advertised budget notice: estimated $3.64 million in property tax cap credits against an $11.49 million maximum operating levy; referendum fund to be raised listed at $8.8 million versus $7.30 million in 2026 ^[14].
• Tax rates (DLGF certified 2026): referendum $0.2277, Operations $0.3947 ($10.84M), debt service $0.5734 ($15.75M, down from $0.9006 in 2022). Net assessed value $1.78B (2022) to $2.75B (2026) ^[10].
• SEA 1-2025 estimate (LSA, House-amended version): net levy -$538k (2026), -$369k (2027), -$485k (2028) versus prior law ^[15].
• Charter sharing: as a Marion County district, Decatur must share with participating charters under IC 20-46-1-21; its plan estimates $70,769 a year across 20 charters ^[2][17].
• Teacher pay and fund balances were not found in sources reviewed.

What came before

• May 2014 primary: operating referendum, up to $0.2986 per $100. PASSED (DLGF) ^[6][7].
• May 7, 2019: operating referendum, up to $0.2890 per $100 for 8 years for student transportation, safety, maintenance and electricity. PASSED (DLGF certified); unofficial count 1,073 yes (65.51%) to 565 no ^[6][8][9].
• Rate actually levied under the 2019 question (DLGF certified): $0.289 (2022), $0.2375 (2023), $0.2333 (2024), $0.2343 (2025), $0.2277 (2026); referendum levy $5.80M (2022) rising to $7.30M (2026) ^[10].
• No Decatur Township construction referendum appears on DLGF's historic controlled-project list ^[6].

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

• What rate does the board expect to levy in 2027, and how does that compare with the 22.77 cents levied in 2026?
• Why is the dollar cap ($9 million) higher than the current levy (about $7.3 million) if the rate cap is lower?
• Which $8 million in reductions would come first if the question fails?
• How much have the new bell schedules saved on transportation?
• How would charter sharing change if more charters opt in?

What we could not find

• The district's referendum web pages (decaturproud.org) could not be loaded (server unavailable), so its FAQ, tax calculator and full reduction list were not read; the Fox59 list of potential cuts did not render.
• Board vote count for July 7, 2026 was not shown in the filed resolution.
• The 2019 resolution text says years 2020 through 2028 while the district's 2026 release says the levy runs through Dec. 31, 2027; the 2027 end date is the district's statement.
• 2014 vote totals and term length were not retrieved; certified county canvass totals for 2019 were not retrieved.
• Teacher salaries and cash balances not found.

Sources