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School renewal · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Smith-Green Schools operating referendum renewal

Continue a referendum levy for 8 years (2027-2034) at up to $0.4988 per $100 (down from a $0.628 maximum) and about $2.18 million a year. The 2018 levy ends after 2026. On ballots in Smith-Green Community Schools (Churubusco).

Who votes on it: Registered voters who live inside the Smith-Green Community Schools boundaries in Whitley and Noble counties.

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What a vote means

A yes vote
Our computation: about $148 a year more than the 2026 rate actually charged ($0.3277) for a $200,000 median home, at the new maximum.
A no vote
The referendum tax ends in 2027: $431 a year less on the ballot, or about $283 compared with the 2026 rate (our computation). The district loses about $1.85 million a year.

On the ballot

Read the question as it is printed, word for word
Shall Smith-Green Community Schools continue to 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, maintaining health and safety initiatives, supporting and retaining teachers and staff, maintaining class sizes and transportation services, and funding academic and support programs to meet the educational needs of all students, while changing the current maximum operating referendum tax rate of $0.6280, by imposing a property tax rate that does not exceed $0.4988 and results in a maximum annual amount that does not exceed $2,176,300? If this operating referendum public question is NOT approved by the voters, for a median residence of $200,000, the property's annual property tax bill would decrease by $431 per year. If this operating referendum public question is approved by the voters, it would be a renewal of the most recent operating referendum public question passed in 2018 with a property tax rate of $0.6280.

In full

Smith-Green Community Schools is asking voters to renew its 2018 operating referendum for eight more years (2027-2034). The ballot lowers the maximum rate from 62.8 cents to 49.88 cents per $100 and caps collections at about $2.18 million a year. The rate actually charged in 2026 was 32.77 cents (about $1.85 million), so the new maximum is lower than the old ceiling but higher than what taxpayers pay now. The 2018 levy expires after 2026; SEA 1 allows referendums only in November of even years, so this is the last chance to continue it without a gap.

What is being asked for

Most it could charge
$0.4988 per $100, down from the 2018 maximum of $0.6280 [1][2]
Most it could raise a year
$2,176,300 [1][2]
For how long
8 years
What it replaces
Renews the operating referendum approved May 8, 2018 (max $0.628 per $100). DLGF certified that levy could be collected through 2026. A YES continues a referendum levy for 2027-2034 [1][3][4]
On a median home
$200,000 (Whitley and Noble County auditors) [1] — Ballot figure: if NOT approved, the median home's bill would decrease by $431 a year; that equals the new maximum rate ($0.4988) times the $86,400 net value of a $200,000 homestead [1]. Net change vs. today (computed by us): the district actually levied $0.3277 in 2026, not its $0.628 maximum, which is about $283 a year on the same net value. So at the new maximum a YES would cost the median home about $148 a year more than the 2026 referendum rate, and a NO would cut about $283 (not $431) from current bills [1][5]

If it passes

  • Net vs. today: if the board levies the full new maximum, the median $200,000 home pays about $148 a year more than at the 2026 rate; if it continues near the 2026 rate, little change (our computation from DLGF rates). The ballot itself shows only the $431 decrease that a NO would bring [1][5]
  • Levy of up to $0.4988 per $100 and $2,176,300 a year for 2027-2034, about $326,000 (18%) more than the $1.85 million levied in 2026 [1][5]
  • Spending plan: supporting and retaining teachers and staff and maintaining class sizes $1,131,676 (52%); health and safety initiatives $348,208 (16%); transportation $348,208 (16%); academic and support programs $348,208 (16%) [2]
  • Mandatory statewide charter sharing (IC 20-46-1-22) applies only to levies first imposed for taxes due in 2028 or later; this renewal starts with 2027 taxes [11]

If it fails

  • Timing: the 2018 levy's last year is taxes due in 2026. A NO removes the referendum tax from bills starting in 2027: $431 for the median home per the ballot (calculated at the new maximum rate), or about $283 compared with the 2026 rate actually charged (our computation) [1][3][5]
  • The district would lose about $1.85 million a year (2026 levy level), about 46% of its combined 2026 referendum and Operations Fund levies ($1.85 million of $4.02 million) [5]
  • No district list of cuts tied to a NO vote was found
  • Next allowed attempt: November 2028 general election, meaning at least 2027-2028 without referendum revenue [11]

How it got on the ballot

  • The revenue spending plan was filed with DLGF under a file named for a July 13, 2026 resolution; the resolution text itself was not posted (the DLGF 'resolution' and 'spending plan' links point to the same spending-plan document) [2]
  • DLGF received the resolution July 17, 2026 and approved the language July 23, 2026 (No. 26-042-REF), noting the district's prior referendum in 2018 'passed' [1]
  • The Journal Gazette reported Smith-Green is the only northeast Indiana district pursuing an operating referendum in November (only free lines read) [7]

The district's own numbers

  • Enrollment (IDOE): 1,178 in 2018-19 and 1,105 in 2025-26 (-6.2%) [12]
  • Fall 2025 transfers (IDOE): 1,030 state-funded resident students; 244 transferred in (94 from Northwest Allen, 49 from Fort Wayne), 119 out, 51 Choice vouchers; net +74 [13]
  • Charters: 4 resident students attended charters; far below the statewide sharing threshold [13][11]
  • Net assessed value (both counties): $380.7 million (2022) to $564.5 million (2026), +48% [5]
  • 2026 certified school tax rate $0.98 per $100: Operations $0.3853, Referendum $0.3277, Debt Service $0.267 [5]
  • Circuit breaker losses, 2026 (Whitley portion): $151,184 of the $1,473,641 Operations levy (10.3%) [10]
  • SEA 1 (2025) LSA estimate: Whitley portion -$219,800 (2026), -$307,120 (2027), -$418,800 (2028, -10.8%); Noble portion -$104,640, -$147,020, -$193,070 (2028, -10.5%) [14]
  • Teacher pay and fund balances were not located

What came before

  • Early 2018: the board unanimously approved a resolution for a $0.628 referendum after the business manager reported the general fund fell from $8.8 million (2009) to $7.3 million spent (2016) (KPC News) [8]
  • May 8, 2018: operating referendum, up to $0.628 per $100 for 8 years 'for the purpose of funding and maintaining current educational and operational programs including student safety and transportation and any other educational and operational needs'. PASSED: 988 yes, 553 no (64.1%) per the Secretary of State listing for Whitley County [4][9]
  • DLGF estimated the 2018 levy at about $1,991,689 for 2019 and authorized it through 2026 [3]
  • Rates actually levied were well below the $0.628 maximum: $0.2552 (2022, about $971,600), $0.3248 (2023), $0.3211 (2024), $0.3322 (2025), $0.3277 (2026, $1,849,961 across both counties) [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

  • The ballot purposes and spending plan describe the goal as 'educational and operational funding stability in response to reductions in property tax revenue' [1][2]
  • No district referendum web page, superintendent statement or registered political action committee was found in the sources reviewed

Against

  • No organized opposition for 2026 was found
  • 2018 (prior question): a local farmer told the board that 'Fifteen years of declining enrollment, stagnant assessed valuation and poor financial management may be equal factors' in the district's finances (KPC News) [8]

Questions worth asking

  • The district has levied about 32-33 cents under a 62.8-cent ceiling; what rate does it plan to levy in 2027 under the new 49.88-cent ceiling?
  • Why is the new maximum levy ($2.18 million) higher than the 2026 levy ($1.85 million)?
  • Which costs are now paid by referendum money, and what would be cut first if renewal fails?
  • What are the district's fund balances and its projected deficit with SEA 1 losses?
  • How did the board vote on the July 2026 resolution?

What we could not find

  • Resolution text and vote on the July 2026 resolution not posted by DLGF; Journal Gazette (reported vote) is paywalled
  • Noble County portion of the 2018 vote not found
  • No district FAQ page found; 21Alive's Oct 7, 2026 report only restates the ballot question
  • Citizen Portal summaries are automated; only free teasers read

Sources

Researched Sunday, October 11, 2026

  1. Findings and Final Determination, No. 26-042-REF, Smith-Green Community Schools (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  2. Smith-Green Community Schools Proposed Revenue Spending Plan (posted as Resolution 7.13.26 and Spending Plan) (Smith-Green Community Schools (filed with DLGF))
  3. Estimated Referendum Levy, Smith-Green Community School Corporation (May 2018) (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  4. 2018 Special Elections, Primary and General (school referendum results) (Indiana Secretary of State)
  5. Certified Budget, Levy, Net Assessed Value and Rate by Fund, 2022-2026 (2026 file shown) (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  6. One northeast Indiana district to pursue operating referendum (The Journal Gazette)
  7. SGCS approves referendum resolution (KPC News)
  8. Historic School Tax Levy Referenda (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  9. 2026 Whitley County Circuit Breaker Report (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  10. Indiana Code Title 20 (IC 20-46-1) (Indiana General Assembly)
  11. Corporation Enrollment by Grade 2006-26 (Indiana Department of Education)
  12. Fall 2025-2026 Public Corporation Transfer Report (Indiana Department of Education)
  13. SB 1 (2025) Net Levy Estimates with Changes from Baseline, by unit (Legislative Services Agency)
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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
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