Tri-Central Community Schools operating referendum

What a vote means

A yes vote

Adds up to $143 a year (about $11.92 a month) for a $150,000 median home (ballot). There is no referendum tax today.

A no vote

No new tax. The district says it would keep evaluating reductions in staffing, class-size support, programs and vocational offerings.

On the ballot

In full

Tri-Central Community Schools, a small rural district in northern Tipton County, is asking voters for the first time to approve an operating property tax of up to 24 cents per $100 of assessed value, about $1.1 million a year, for eight years (2027-2034). The district says lower state funding from enrollment decline, reduced operating revenue under SEA 1 and inflation together cost it about $1.14 million in its 2026 budget. It has published a line-by-line plan: six elementary teachers and an aide, off-site vocational programs, the agriculture program, staff pay and safety projects.

What is being asked for

Most it could charge

$0.24 per $100 of assessed value ^[1][2]

Most it could raise a year

$1,100,000 ^[1][2]

For how long

8 years

What it replaces

None. First operating referendum request by the district ^[1][5][6]

On a median home

$150,000 (Tipton County Auditor certification) ^[1][3] — +$143 a year (about $11.92 a month) ^[1][4] Net change vs. today: no operating referendum tax is on this district's bills now (DLGF 2026 certified rates show no referendum fund), so the net change for the median home equals the ballot figure, up to $143 a year if the full $0.24 rate is levied (our reading of the DLGF rate table). ^[1][8]

If it passes

• Ballot figure: +$143 a year for the median home at the maximum rate. Because no referendum tax is levied today, this is also the net increase versus current bills (computed; actual first-year rate may be lower if the board levies less than the maximum). ^[1][8]
• Levy of up to $0.24 per $100 and $1.1 million a year for 2027-2034 ^[1]
• Spending plan: recruiting and retaining teachers and staff $249,000 (coaching stipends; hiring in-person Spanish and business teachers; flexibility to hire experienced teachers); safety $165,000 (school safety officer $37,000; doors, sidewalks and entry points about $86,268 including an ADA gym entrance; 13 security cameras $41,732); class sizes and academic programs $686,000 (6 elementary teachers and 1 aide $471,000; off-site vocational and other high-cost programs $115,000; agriculture program $100,000) ^[2][4]
• The resolution says the district does not plan to share the levy with charters; mandatory statewide sharing (IC 20-46-1-22) applies only to levies first imposed for taxes due in 2028 or later ^[2][10]
• District: the referendum 'would not, by itself, reverse an enrollment decline' ^[4]

If it fails

• Nothing on tax bills changes: there is no existing referendum levy to expire, so a NO keeps the current rates; the district simply does not receive the new money from 2027. ^[8]
• No new tax. The district says it 'would need to continue evaluating possible reductions, delays, or restructuring' in staffing, elementary class-size support, academic and specialized programs, off-site vocational programs, the agriculture program, and safety and facility improvements ^[4]
• One measure already under consideration: cutting two contracted bus routes, saving about $85,000 a year ^[4]
• Final reductions would depend on budget conditions and board action ^[4]
• Next allowed attempt: November 2028 general election ^[10]

How it got on the ballot

• June 15, 2026: the Board of School Trustees adopted the Referendum Tax Levy Resolution and revenue spending plan (certified by board secretary Kreg Salsbery); the vote count is not shown ^[2]
• The district names three factors in its 2026 budget, 'lower state funding tied to enrollment decline, reduced operating revenue associated with Senate Bill 1, and increased costs related to inflation', together about $1.14 million ^[4]
• The Tipton County Auditor certified the $150,000 median home and +$143 ^[3]
• DLGF received the resolution June 16, 2026 and approved the language June 22, 2026 (No. 26-011-REF) ^[1]

The district's own numbers

• Enrollment (IDOE): 773 in 2018-19 and 763 in 2025-26 (-1.3%) ^[11]
• Fall 2025 transfers (IDOE): 623 state-funded resident students, of whom 450 attend Tri-Central; 292 transferred in, 166 out, 7 Choice vouchers; net +119. Largest parent-choice destinations: Tipton (48), Eastern Howard (45), Western (34) ^[12]
• Charters: 6 resident students attended charters in fall 2025; well below the statewide sharing threshold ^[12][10]
• Net assessed value: $339.1 million (2022) to $474.2 million (2026), +40% ^[8]
• 2026 certified school tax rate $0.9351 per $100: Debt Service $0.4895, Operations $0.4456; no referendum rate ^[8]
• Circuit breaker losses, 2026: $181,699 of the $2,113,221 Operations levy (8.6%) ^[9]
• Tri-Central was not found in the LSA unit-level SEA 1 estimate table used for other districts (see gaps)
• Teacher pay and fund balances were not located

What came before

• No prior operating or construction referendum by Tri-Central appears in DLGF's historic lists; Chalkbeat lists Tri-Central among five districts seeking a property tax increase for the first time ^[5][6][7]
• Cost actions the district lists: multiple positions cut through restructuring; superintendent's salary frozen; combined administrative roles (the elementary principal is also transportation director and school safety officer); shared special-education, insurance and purchasing arrangements; solar panels, with renewable-energy credits traded for a part-time nurse ^[4]
• District: Operating Fund expenses fell from $3,067,605 in 2024 to $2,721,915 in 2025 (-$345,690, -11.3%) ^[4]
• The board 'has committed to staying tax neutral with existing debt-service dollars' ^[4]

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

• Are the six elementary teachers and aide currently employed (so the referendum would keep them), or new hires?
• If the referendum fails, which of the listed items would be cut first, and when?
• Tri-Central enrolls 292 transfer students and loses 166 residents; how does that net figure affect revenue and the need for this levy?
• What are the current Education and Operations fund balances?
• How will the district report referendum spending each year?

What we could not find

• Board vote count on June 15, 2026 not shown
• No LSA unit-level SEA 1 estimate found for Tri-Central
• No independent news coverage of the Tri-Central question was found
• Teacher pay and fund balances not located

Sources