Caitlin Crouch’s classroom is loud. The high school English teacher prefers it that way. A noisy room means students are engaging with the material.
The Ben Davis graduate has taught at her alma mater for 11 years. Her class size has stayed fairly consistent, usually with 25 to 30 students. Sometimes it creeps over 30.
It’s a number Crouch says she’s grown comfortable with. Her students can collaborate and work independently in class and Crouch still has the opportunity to get to know each of them.
“My department chair challenged us a few years ago to make our classrooms the best part of our students’ day and I’ve really tried to embrace that,” Crouch said. “Even when we’re doing something hard, I still try to make it meaningful to them.”
Crouch said she can’t imagine how she’d be able to connect with her students individually if her class sizes got bigger. It’s something Wayne Township administrators say they’re hoping to avoid by putting a new tax referendum on voters’ ballots this fall.
If passed, the new tax rate would replace an existing referendum that expires soon, continuing an important source of money for the district.
However, the new tax rate would be slightly higher than property owners currently pay. Administrators say that’s due in part to recent changes in how the state calculates property taxes.
Wayne Township officials say they already took steps to adjust their budget before asking for a tax increase. They’ve eliminated more than 100 positions through attrition this year and skipped teacher raises as part of an effort to cut $10 million.
But, without a new referendum, Superintendent Shenia Suggs said Wayne Township would need to cut even more. About $20 million more.
“It literally would hit all parts of our district,” Suggs said. “The question we’ve put forth and asked our community is: Will you support our district and the services we all know for the students?”
Why does Wayne Township want a referendum?
Wayne Township isn’t alone in feeling a budget crunch. The district is one of five school corporations in Indianapolis, and 38 across the state, pursuing a property tax referendum this fall.
In Indiana, property taxes fund school operations. That includes everything from utilities and maintenance costs to salaries for bus drivers, custodians and front office staff.
Without a referendum, school districts are limited in how much money they can collect from property taxes to support those costs. State officials have implemented “property tax caps” that affect public schools differently based on the types of properties found within a school district.
A large, highly residential school district like Wayne Township generally collects less in property taxes per student than a district with a lot of commercial properties. That’s because taxes generated by homes, businesses and farmland are taxed at different rates.
In Wayne Township, officials say property taxes collected for school operations go just far enough to cover the district’s basic utility bills.
The district received just over $4 million in operating funds from local property taxes last year, officials said. Meanwhile, about $3.3 million was spent on electricity and $700,000 on natural gas that same year.
That leaves all of the other operational roles that help schools function reliant on alternative funding sources. A referendum, for example, can support essential services like school safety, classroom technology and student transportation.
“This is not to do some grandiose thing,” Suggs said of the referendum. “We just want to be able to pay the bills.”
If the referendum doesn’t pass, Wayne Township leaders say they’ll need to cut $20 million by next school year. That could bring larger class sizes, a longer walk to the bus stop and even a closed elementary school.
Popular programs like preschool, the HOSTS reading program, and Ben Davis University could be discontinued. District leaders say they’ve tried hard so far to avoid cuts to academic services. But, already, some reduction efforts have inched closer to the classroom.
The district discontinued afterschool school study tables earlier this year after deciding to scale back on evening activity buses. The program came back in limited scope after the Wayne Township Education Foundation stepped in with a grant.
“It’s kind of hard to imagine, when I think about it, the hard decisions that would have to be made,” Suggs said. “I just try to focus on how great our community has always been and how they’ve supported us, not just in the referendums.”
What is Wayne Township asking for?
Recent changes in state law only allow school districts to run a referendum during an even-numbered general election year. That pushed Wayne Township, which has a referendum due to expire next December, to return to taxpayers now.
The push comes at a time when many Hoosiers have felt strained by climbing property tax bills. State lawmakers are currently studying ways to relieve the pressure. In the meantime, school administrators say they plan to only ask for what’s necessary to keep operations on track.
So, what does that look like in Wayne Township? The district is seeking a maximum referendum rate of 70 cents for every $100 of assessed value on a property. If approved, this referendum would replace the district’s current rate of 35 cents per $100 of assessed value.
That means property owners’ taxes would only go up by the difference of those two rates — 35 cents — at a maximum. However, because 70 cents is a maximum rate, property owners could pay even less some years.
If the referendum passes, Wayne Township officials will review the rate each year as part of the district’s annual budget writing process. District leaders think they can get by next year with a lesser rate of 60 cents for every $100 of assessed value.
“We will only ask for what we need,” Suggs said.
What does that 60-cent rate actually look like on a tax bill? District officials say taxpayers with a home valued at $200,000 would see their bill increase by about $200 next year.
Each tax bill is different and you may qualify for deductions. Wayne Township has provided a calculator on its website to help property owners see how their bill might change.
The referendum request is for eight years, meaning the district would have to return to voters again in 2034 to continue collecting property taxes at the same rate.
Will Wayne teachers be affected?
Crouch, the Ben Davis English teacher, said she’s committed to Wayne Township and can’t imagine teaching anywhere else. But she worries about her colleagues. If the referendum doesn’t pass, will they be able to stay?
The Wayne Township school board is currently considering a salary package that’s contingent on the referendum. If it passes, teachers will get raises. If not, they’ll get a one-time stipend.
Crouch spends her own money to buy journals and annotation tools for her students. She also teaches at the district’s online school to make a little extra money. She recognizes not every teacher has the time or resources to take on these additional roles.
The hardest part of budget cuts, Crouch said, has been watching talented colleagues leave Wayne Township for other jobs. Some have left teaching altogether.
Despite that, Crouch says she’s focusing on the positives of her profession: one that can be fun, creative and inspiring. Regardless of what happens with the referendum, she’s dedicated to giving her students the experience they deserve.
“I see all of the kids in my room and their faces, and I know them,” Crouch said. “I know that I owe it to them to do this well.”
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Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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