Wayne Township schools will make small changes to its bus replacement plans in response to lawmakers’ decision this year to revise the state’s property tax collections.
The Wayne Township school board briefly discussed its 2026 budget during a meeting on Monday, Sept. 8. Administrators presented a plan to alter the district’s bus replacement cycle to adjust for the change in local property tax collection.
Property taxes in Indiana help schools fund operational expenses, such as transportation and building upkeep. Schools have generally been bracing to receive less operations support than anticipated after the Braun administration sought to address climbing property assessments this year.
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Though schools got a bump in state funding, educators are bracing for change under this year’s property tax reform.
Though Wayne Township still anticipates receiving an increase in property tax revenue this year, that amount is less than what the district had hoped to collect before the change in property tax law.
To plan ahead, school board members approved a bus replacement plan that steps the district’s purchasing down from 14 new vehicles a year to an anticipated 12 vehicle purchases in 2026.
Wayne Township runs a total fleet of about 130 buses and staggers its vehicle purchasing. Assistant Superintendent Steve Samuel said that investments in past years will allow the district to keep up with its 10-year replacement cycle for buses despite the change.
The plan discussed Sept. 8 budgets for a school bus priced at $125,000 a vehicle.
Utility rates a concern for operating funds
Also during the meeting, Superintendent Jeff Butts expressed concern over rising utility rates. AES Indiana has proposed a multiple-phase rate hike culminating in a roughly 13.5% increase by the end of 2026.
That’s on top of another already approved 6% increase to finance grid projects.
“As a school municipality, we’re looking at about a 23% increase in the next two years,” Butts said. “If this increase goes through, we’ll be spending about $4 million a year on just utilities.”
It’s something the outgoing Wayne Township superintendent says he hopes to work on in his next role when he joins the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents in January.
This year, Butts announced his plans to retire from Wayne Township and lead the association which lobbies state lawmakers on behalf of public school communities. Butts said he’d like to advocate for changes to how public schools are billed for their energy use.
“The (Indiana) Utility Regulatory Commission is a powerful entity,” Butts told board members. “I don’t know that I’ll make much headway there, but know that that’s one of the things I’m going to be trying to accomplish as we think about the utility rates and the impact they’re having on school budgets.”
Wayne Township’s operations fund is just under 15% of the district’s overall $243 million budget proposal. The district’s 2026 budget advertisement is posted online now for review.
The Wayne Township school board is expected to meet again in October to take public comment on, and vote to approve, its annual budget.
About our reporting
This article was published as part of a partnership between Chalkbeat Indiana, WFYI, and Mirror Indy to increase coverage of township school districts in Marion County.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
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.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
