School construction · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Whiting schools construction referendum
Borrow up to $39.3 million for districtwide building work, repaid by a property tax of up to $3.5 million a year for up to 23 years. Ballot: +$530 a year for a $250,000 median home. On ballots in School City of Whiting.
Who votes on it: Registered voters who live within the School City of Whiting (the City of Whiting, Lake County)
What a vote means
- A yes vote
- District estimate: $367-$396 a year for the median home. This would be added to the cost of Whiting's separate operating question if that also passes.
- A no vote
- The district may not issue these bonds for this project. It has warned of possible e-learning if building systems fail; no alternative plan was found.
On the ballot
Read the question as it is printed, word for word
Shall School City of Whiting increase property taxes paid to the School Corporation for no more than twenty-three years for the purpose of funding the School City of Whiting 2026 Student Facilities, Safety, and Transportation Improvement Project which includes health, safety, and security upgrades to all school facilities; renovation and improvements and the potential construction of additions to student learning environments at all school buildings; upgrades to school buildings to support technology-ready classrooms; and construction of and improvements to athletic and support facilities and performing arts and music facilities, including a band room, together with the purchase of equipment, technology and buses, and student safety improvements for which the principal debt amount for the project will cost no more than $39,305,000 and the financing cost including interest and fees will cost no more than an additional $28,810,000 and is estimated to increase the property taxes paid to the School Corporation by imposing a property tax rate that results in a maximum annual amount that does not exceed $3,500,000. If this capital referendum public question is approved by the voters, for a median residence of $250,000, the property's annual property tax bill would increase by $530 per year.
In full
Whiting's schools ask voters to approve borrowing up to $39.3 million (plus up to $28.8 million in interest and fees, $68.1 million total) for a districtwide facilities, safety and transportation project: safety and security upgrades, renovations and possible additions at all buildings, technology-ready classrooms, athletic and support facilities, performing arts and music space including a band room, equipment, technology and buses. Repayment would add up to $3.5 million a year in property taxes for no more than 23 years. The district says its buildings are 50-117 years old and that it had 'no long-term plan for facilities.' It is the only school construction referendum on Indiana's November 2026 ballot.
What is being asked for
- Most it could charge
- Not stated on the ballot (construction questions state a maximum annual amount). District estimate: up to $0.4720 per $100 at the maximum payment, $0.37-$0.41 expected; the June 1 resolution table projects $0.4094 in 2028 declining to $0.3722 by 2036 [3][4].
- For how long
- 23 years
- What it replaces
- Nothing. This is a new capital (controlled project) levy paid from a separate exempt debt service fund [4]. The current Debt Service Fund levy is $1,376,323 at $0.2796 [3]. It is independent of the separate Whiting operating question on the same ballot [1][9].
- On a median home
- $250,000 (Lake County Auditor) [1] — Ballot figure: +$530 per year [1]. District estimate (May 26 presentation): $367-$396 a year for the median home, $433-$466 for a $250,000 home [4]. No existing capital referendum levy, so these are increases vs. today; if the operating question also passes, its +$383 (ballot) is additional [9].
If it passes
- District may issue up to $39,305,000 in bonds/lease obligations; financing costs up to $28,810,000; maximum $3,500,000 a year for no more than 23 years [1][3].
- Scope per the ballot and resolutions: safety and security upgrades at all facilities; renovations and potential additions; technology-ready classrooms; athletic, support, performing arts and music facilities including a band room; equipment, technology and buses [1][3].
- Cost: ballot +$530/yr on a $250,000 median home; district estimate $367-$396 for the median home [1][4].
- Payments come from a separate capital referendum (exempt) debt service fund [4].
If it fails
- No new capital levy. The district may not issue these bonds for this project [1][10].
- District statements of consequences (April 20 hearing on building systems): 'If systems shut down, we will have to look at going to e-learning' and costs 'will continue to rise' [5]. No official alternative plan was found for a NO vote.
- Re-try: November 2028 general election [10].
- Note: the separate April 2026 HVAC/electrical/plumbing project was advanced through the non-referendum process; how a NO affects it was not stated [6].
How it got on the ballot
- Summer 2025 strategic plan and fall 2025 committee; Fanning Howey building needs assessment October 2025-February 2026 ('300 plus pages') [4][5].
- April 20 and April 27, 2026: hearings and a unanimous preliminary determination for an earlier, separate project described as HVAC, electrical, plumbing and site improvements and buses, equipment and technology (amount not found in minutes) [5][6].
- Notice of hearings for the 2026 Student Facilities, Safety, and Transportation Improvement Project published May 13, 2026 [3][7].
- May 26, 2026: first preliminary determination hearing; June 1, 2026: second hearing, then unanimous votes on the Project Resolution (estimated hard and soft costs $38,610,000 plus $695,000 issuance = $39,305,000), the Preliminary Determination Resolution (leases up to 30 years, bonds up to 20 years each, max lease rental $3,500,000, interest 3%-7%, total interest $28,810,000) and a reimbursement resolution [3][4].
- DLGF received the question from the Lake County Election Board June 18, 2026 and approved it June 29, 2026, finding the description 'accurate and not biased' [1]. Note: the DLGF finding cites 'a maximum term of thirty (30) years' for the $68,115,000 cost while the ballot says no more than 23 years [1].
The district's own numbers
- Building ages (capital disclosure): Whiting High School 117 years ('fair'); Middle School 103 years ('good, fair'); Nathan Hale grades 3-5 building 51 years and K-2 primary building 100 years ('fair'); administration building 33 years [2].
- Cost per square foot of new construction: $473; square footage per student 184 now and after the project [2].
- Enrollment 1,000-1,040 over the last three years (district) [2]; IDOE: 1,219 (2018-19) to 1,050 (2025-26) [12].
- Debt ratios disclosed: maximum annual payments 1.17% of net assessed value; direct and overlapping debt 14.57% of NAV [3].
- Current Debt Service Fund: levy $1,376,323, rate $0.2796 (2026) [3][13]. The June 1 resolution's 10-year table shows the total Debt Service rate at $0.5197 in 2027 before any capital-referendum payments, then about $0.93 in 2028-2031 with them [3]. (Our inference: the 2027 rise reflects other planned non-referendum debt such as the April 2026 project; not confirmed.)
- District estimate: new facility space would add about $100,000 a year in operating costs [3].
- District says HVAC maintenance costs 'close to $100,000 a year' and NIPSCO utility costs are 'a little over $350,000 a year' [5].
What came before
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 David Verta (May 26 hearing): 'This referendum is about protecting the future of our children and our community' and 'Continued delays will only increase project costs' [4].
- No registered campaign committee identified.
Against
- No organized opposition found. Minutes say 'Questions and testimony were given by several patrons' at the April 27 hearing but do not record their content [6].
Questions worth asking
- What specific projects are in each building, and which would be done first?
- How large is the separate April 2026 project, and does it overlap with this one?
- Why does the ballot say 23 years when the preliminary determination allows leases up to 30 years?
- What happens to the HVAC and safety needs if this fails?
- How many buses would be purchased and at what cost?
- What is the combined tax effect if both Whiting questions pass?
What we could not find
- Fanning Howey needs assessment (on district website per minutes) not reviewed.
- Amount of the April 2026 preliminary-determination project not found.
- No project-by-project cost list found.
- 30-year vs. 23-year term discrepancy not explained in sources.
Sources
Researched Sunday, October 11, 2026
- Findings and Final Determination (controlled project), School City of Whiting (Indiana DLGF)
- Capital Referendum Information disclosure (School City of Whiting) (School City of Whiting)
- Special School Board Meeting minutes, June 1, 2026 (Project, Preliminary Determination, Reimbursement resolutions) (School City of Whiting (BoardDocs))
- Regular School Board Meeting minutes, May 26, 2026 (first preliminary determination hearing) (School City of Whiting (BoardDocs))
- Special School Board Meeting minutes, April 20, 2026 (School City of Whiting (BoardDocs))
- Regular School Board Meeting minutes, April 27, 2026 (School City of Whiting (BoardDocs))
- Notice of Hearings (2026 Student Facilities, Safety, and Transportation Improvement Project) (School City of Whiting)
- Historic Controlled Project Referenda (Indiana DLGF)
- Findings and Final Determination, No. 26-012-REF (Whiting operating) (Indiana DLGF)
- Legislative Changes to Property Tax Referenda and Controlled Projects (memo) (Indiana DLGF)
- 2023 Municipal General Election Summary (Public Question Whiting) (Lake County Board of Elections and Registration)
- Corporation Enrollment by Grade 2006-2026 (Indiana Department of Education)
- 2026 Certified Budget, Levy, CNAV and Rate by Fund (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
This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.