Indiana school districts split on 2025 property-tax referendums; some win, others face cuts

Voters in dozens of Indiana school districts said yes to raising their own property taxes on Tuesday, while voters in other districts said no — a split decision that will allow some schools to collect more revenue and leaves others facing the severe cuts their superintendents warned about.

The referendums decided whether districts could collect property taxes beyond the caps the Indiana Legislature put in place in 2025. Approval means a district’s taxes are not subject to those caps, allowing more revenue to be collected for operating expenses and construction.

Whiting wins both votes, including $39.3 million building project

The School City of Whiting in Lake County was the only district to put two referendums on the ballot, and voters approved both. One raises taxes for a $39.3 million project to upgrade and expand the district’s school buildings. The other adds property taxes for day-to-day operating expenses.

Superintendents in districts that sought operating-expense referendums had warned that failure would force severe cuts. Carmel Clay Schools, Noblesville Schools, Hamilton Southeastern Schools and Zionsville Community Schools all won their referendums, as did Indianapolis Public Education Corporation and the Marion County townships of Washington and Wayne. Washington Township and Wayne Township passed; Decatur Township’s referendum was denied.

The full list of districts where referendums passed, alphabetical by county: Barr-Reeve Community Schools in Daviess County; Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation in Bartholomew County; Carmel Clay Schools in Hamilton County; Clark-Pleasant School Corporation in Johnson County; Crown Point Community School Corporation in Lake County; Culver Community School Corporation, spanning Pulaski, Fulton, Starke and Marshall counties; Hamilton Southeastern Schools in Hamilton County; Indianapolis Public Education Corporation in Marion County; Metropolitan School District of Shakamak in Clay and Greene counties; Metropolitan School District of Washington Township and Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in Marion County; Noblesville Schools in Hamilton County; Oak Hill United School Corporation in Grant and Miami counties; Oregon-Davis School Corporation in Starke County; Porter Township School Corporation in Porter County; River Forest Community School in Lake County; School City of Beech Grove in Marion County; School City of Whiting, both referendums, in Lake County; Southeast Dubois County School Corporation in Dubois County; Tri-Creek School Corporation in Lake County; Wa-Nee Community School Corporation in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties; West Lafayette School Corporation in Tippecanoe County; Westfield Washington Schools in Hamilton County; and Zionsville Community Schools in Boone County.

Twelve districts fall short, Lebanon rejects police headquarters

Voters in Anderson, Elwood, Franklin Community, Decatur Township, Michigan City Area Schools, Mississinewa, Pike County, Shelbyville Central, Sheridan, Smith-Green, Tipton and Tri-Central community school corporations all denied their referendums, leaving those districts subject to the 2025 property tax caps and the severe cuts their superintendents warned about.

Indiana school districts split on 2025 property-tax referendums; some win, others face cuts

In Lebanon, in Boone County, voters rejected by about 2-to-1 a referendum that would have raised property taxes over 20 years to fund a new $52 million police headquarters.

For the districts that won, their tax collections are no longer subject to the 2025 property tax caps, allowing more revenues to be collected for operations and, in Whiting’s case, to build.

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