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School referendum · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Wayne Township schools operating referendum

A levy of up to $0.70 per $100 and $41 million a year for 8 years, which the district says replaces the 2019 levy ($0.35). Ballot: +$605 a year for a $200,000 median home. On ballots in Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township.

Who votes on it: Registered voters living within the MSD of Wayne Township school district boundaries (west side of Indianapolis)

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What a vote means

A yes vote
District estimate: about $199 a year more ($16.60 a month) for the median home in 2027, at the planned $0.60 rate.
A no vote
The 2019 levy runs through 2027 and then expires. The district projects a $20 million shortfall; its options include closing an elementary school, larger classes and walk zones.

On the ballot

Read the question as it is printed, word for word
Shall the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township increase property taxes paid to the school district for no more than eight (8) years for the purpose of funding the Wayne Forward Initiative to sustain educational and operational stability in response to reductions in property tax revenue, including recruiting and retaining classroom teachers, funding student safety and school security, and maintaining daily educational operations by imposing a property tax rate that does not exceed $0.70 and results in a maximum annual amount that does not exceed $41,019,552. If this operating referendum public question is approved by the voters, for a median residence of $200,000, the property's annual property tax bill would increase by $605 per year. The most recent operating referendum public question proposed by the school district was held in 2019 and passed.

In full

Wayne Township is asking to replace its 2019 operating referendum (35 cents per $100 of assessed value, expiring in 2027) with a new eight-year levy of up to 70 cents and up to about $41 million a year. The district says it plans to levy 60 cents in 2027. It says property tax caps erase most of its regular operations levy ($21.3 million lost in 2025) and that the 2025 state tax law (SEA 1) shrinks its tax base further. If the question fails, the district projects a $20 million shortfall for 2027-28 [1][3][4].

What is being asked for

Most it could charge
$0.70 per $100 of assessed value; district says it expects to levy $0.60 in 2027 [1][3]
Most it could raise a year
$41,019,552 [1]
For how long
8 years
What it replaces
Replaces (does not add to) the 2019 operating referendum of $0.35 per $100, which expires in 2027 [3][4] The filed resolution has no repeal clause (see gaps). A passing new levy does not automatically repeal the existing one unless the question or resolution says so; IC 20-46-1-19.5(b) allows one earlier and one later levy in the same year [17].
On a median home
$200,000 (Marion County Auditor certification) [1] — +$605 per year on the ballot (statutory figure at the $0.70 maximum, counted as if no referendum tax existed). District estimate of the actual 2027 change at the planned $0.60 rate, after the expiring $0.35: about +$199 a year ($16.60 a month) [1][3][4]

If it passes

  • District spending plan for 2027 (estimated collection $29.0 million): recruiting and retaining teachers $10.0 million; student safety and school security about $1.67 million; operations $17.0 million; charter schools $332,242 [2].
  • The district says it expects to certify $0.60 in 2027 and would use the room up to $0.70 for unknowns over eight years, such as assessed value changes and SEA 1 [3][4].
  • Cost: ballot figure +$605 a year for a $200,000 home at $0.70 with no credit for the expiring $0.35; district estimate about +$199 a year at $0.60 in 2027. Referendum taxes are outside the 1/2/3% caps [1][4][14].
  • Charter share is set by formula (students living in Wayne who attend participating non-virtual charters); about 1.1% of the projected 2027 collection [2][17].

If it fails

  • The 2019 $0.35 levy runs through 2027 as scheduled and then expires, with no replacement [3][4]. (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][20].)
  • District projects a $20 million shortfall for 2027-28 and says the board would have to consider: eliminating the HOSTS volunteer program; expanding walk zones and lengthening bus rides; outsourcing custodial, grounds and maintenance; larger classes; restructuring the preschool program; continuing to withhold raises; restructuring Ben Davis University High School; 'closing an elementary school and redistricting students'; and other cuts [3].
  • Next chance: the next general election, November 2028 [18].

How it got on the ballot

  • June 22, 2026: the seven-member Board of Education (Brandon Bowman, Susan Graves, Cheri O'Day-Marcotte, Karen Burke, Ben Wakefield, Raimeka Graham, Mikeal Gordon; all present) adopted the referendum resolution on a motion 'duly made, seconded and carried'; the filed minutes excerpt does not give the vote count [2].
  • The resolution finds that for 2027-2034 the district 'will not be able to carry out its public educational duty' without a levy of up to $0.70 and $41,019,552 a year [2].
  • The board held a June 22, 2026 working session on the referendum, which the district posted online [4].
  • DLGF received the resolution and the Marion County Auditor's certification June 23, 2026 and approved the ballot language June 29, 2026 [1].
  • Reasons given: circuit-breaker (property tax cap) losses, SEA 1 'reducing our tax base roughly 6% per year,' changing tax laws and rising costs for fuel and utilities [3][4].
  • Before seeking the referendum, the district says it eliminated 108 positions, withheld employee raises for 2025-26, cut overtime, renegotiated vendor contracts and took other steps totaling about $10 million in cuts [3][4].

The district's own numbers

  • Enrollment (IDOE): 16,484 (2018-19), 16,473 (2020-21), 15,798 (2023-24), 16,146 (2024-25), 15,734 (2025-26), down 4.5% since 2018-19; 637 of 2025-26 students were in virtual programs [11].
  • Students living in Wayne (fall 2025): 15,473 state-funded resident students; 1,427 transferred in and 944 transferred out (362 of them to charter schools); 777 used Choice Scholarships [12].
  • Circuit breaker: district says it was certified to collect $25.4 million for operations in 2025 but received $4.1 million; $21.3 million lost in 2025 and more than $184 million over 2014-2025; operations funding of $280 per student, 289th of 290 districts (state average $1,923) [3][4].
  • The district's advertised 2027 budget notice estimates $19.1 million in property tax cap credits against an estimated $28.1 million maximum operating levy [13].
  • Tax rates (DLGF certified 2026): referendum $0.35 ($17.99M), Operations $0.5596 ($26.46M), debt service $0.8459 ($40.0M). Debt service was at $1.00 in 2023-2025. Net assessed value $3.29B (2022) to $4.73B (2026) [10].
  • SEA 1-2025 estimate (LSA, House-amended version): net levy -$2.32M (2026), -$3.31M (2027), -$5.88M (2028, -8.6%) versus prior law [15].
  • Staffing and pay: 108 positions eliminated and no employee raises in 2025-26 (district) [3].
  • Bond rating: A+ from S&P (district) [4].
  • Bus fleet: in September 2025 the board cut planned 2026 bus purchases from 14 to 12 after the state tax changes (Mirror Indy) [16].
  • Charter sharing: as a Marion County district, Wayne must share this levy with participating charter schools under IC 20-46-1-21; its plan projects $332,242 to charters in 2027 [2][17].

What came before

  • May 5, 2015: operating referendum, $0.35 per $100 for 7 years 'for the purpose of funding daily educational operations'. PASSED (DLGF); WFYI reported Wayne 'handily won' on unofficial results after the district cited an $8 million annual shortfall following $30 million in cuts [5][6][7].
  • May 7, 2019: operating referendum, $0.35 per $100 for 8 years to maintain daily operations, improve safety and security and recruit and retain teachers. PASSED (DLGF certified); unofficial count 3,422 yes (63.16%) to 1,996 no (36.84%) [5][8][9].
  • The 2015 and 2019 levies overlapped through 2022, so residents paid a combined $0.70 referendum rate for a time; DLGF certified both funds at $0.35 for 2022 and only the 2019 fund in 2023 [4][10].
  • No Wayne Township construction (controlled project) referendum appears on DLGF's historic list [5].

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 Shenia Suggs, describing the district's role: 'Our role between now and November 3 is to provide clear, factual information - not to persuade' [3].
  • Board member Mikeal Gordon (running unopposed) told Chalkbeat 'Absolutely' when asked if he supports it, calling it 'prudent to get back on the right track' [19].
  • Board member Benjamin Wakefield: 'Yes. I support continuing the operating referendum because our students deserve well-funded schools' [19].
  • No registered 2026 campaign committee was found in sources reviewed (a PAC campaigned in 2015) [7].

Against

  • No organized opposition or 'vote no' committee was found in news coverage or district materials reviewed as of Oct 11, 2026.

Questions worth asking

  • What will my own bill be in 2027 at $0.60, and what if the board later raises the rate toward $0.70?
  • Under what conditions would the board levy more than $0.60 in later years?
  • Which items on the reduction list would come first if the question fails, and which elementary school is at risk?
  • How much would go to charter schools each year as more charters opt in or out?
  • How will the circuit-breaker loss change once state-funded property tax relief credits expire in 2029?
  • If the question passes, how is the 2019 levy retired for 2027? (The filed resolution has no repeal clause, and the 2027 budget notice advertises both the existing and a new referendum fund.)

What we could not find

  • Board roll-call vote count on the June 22, 2026 resolution was not in the filed minutes excerpt.
  • Certified (not election-night) 2015 and 2019 vote totals from the Marion County Election Board were not retrieved; 2015 percentages not found.
  • Teacher salary data and fund cash balances were not located.
  • The district's separate Finance page was not reviewed in full.
  • The filed resolution does not contain a clause repealing the 2019 levy; the district states the new levy 'replaces' it. The 2027 budget notice lists $18.4 million for the existing referendum fund and $13.2 million for a second referendum fund; how these combine in 2027 was not explained in materials reviewed.

Sources

Researched Sunday, October 11, 2026

  1. Findings and Final Determination, No. 26-025-REF (MSD Wayne Township) (Indiana DLGF)
  2. Board minutes excerpt, referendum resolution and revenue spending plan (scanned; read by OCR) (Indiana DLGF (filed by MSD Wayne Township))
  3. Wayne Township voters to decide 2026 operating referendum on November 3 (MSD of Wayne Township)
  4. 2026 Operating Referendum (district referendum page and FAQ) (MSD of Wayne Township)
  5. Historic School Tax Levy Referenda (Indiana DLGF)
  6. Findings and Final Determination, MSD Wayne Township operating referendum (2015) (Indiana DLGF)
  7. Marion County School Corps. Win All Tax Increase Referenda (WFYI)
  8. Findings and Final Determination, MSD Wayne Township operating referendum (2019) (Indiana DLGF)
  9. 2019 Indianapolis Primary Election Results (Unofficial) (WFYI)
  10. Certified Budget, Levy, CNAV and Rate by Fund, 2022-2026 (Indiana DLGF)
  11. Corporation and School Enrollment by Grade 2006-2026 (Indiana Department of Education)
  12. Fall 2025-2026 Public Corporation Transfer Report (Indiana Department of Education)
  13. 2027 Budget Notice (Form 3), MSD Wayne Township (DLGF / Indiana Gateway budget notices)
  14. Referendum Information (Indiana DLGF)
  15. SB 1 (2025) Net Levy Estimates with Changes from Baseline, by unit (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)
  16. Wayne Township schools adjust bus replacement plans after property tax reform (Mirror Indy)
  17. IC 20-46-1-21 (charter sharing of referendum revenue in Marion and three other counties) (Indiana General Assembly)
  18. IC 3-10-9-3 (school referendums only at general elections; P.L.68-2025) (Indiana General Assembly)
  19. School board candidates in Wayne Township are on the 2026 ballot unopposed (voter guide) (Chalkbeat Indiana)
  20. Certified Budget, Levy, CNAV and Rate by Fund, 2024 (Hammond and Lake Station referendum levies after failed Nov 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

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