By HOLLY GASKILL
Policy Analytics will soon evaluate the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan Schools district for a possible school safety referendum.
On Monday, the school board unanimously agreed to partner with the accounting firm to evaluate the district’s current and projected tax base. The project was quoted at $9,500, which comes from the district’s rainy day fund.
Superintendent Brad Yates stated he was not recommending a referendum at this time, but that he saw the Policy Analytics study as a helpful tool for understanding their options.
Referendums are funded through an additional tax levy on district properties and brought to a public vote for approval. Once approved, referendums last seven years before renewal.
A school safety referendum, as opposed to an operating or construction referendum, supports student services, like school resource officers, mental health counselors and other related resources.
Currently, the district contracts one Bluffton Police Department officer for its three schools through the district’s operation fund and grants. Yates said, following the results of the evaluation, the board could discuss a referendum’s viability and possible uses, including additional school resource officers.
The evaluation is expected to take between six and eight weeks once started. Yates said he hoped to have data to present in February.
The first school safety-specific referendum was approved in Carmel in 2019. Since then, it has been an increasing statewide topic of conversation.
Mike Murray, who attended the Indiana School Board’s fall meeting, said the issue would be revisited at their upcoming assembly, and they were hopeful there would be additional information about grant opportunities.
Also during the meeting, Yates reported that the district’s assessed evaluation has risen by 7.4 percent; however, the overall tax rate has decreased by 0.03 percent.
Yates said districts across Indiana have seen increases — some above 30 percent — and will be speaking with a panel of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials this Thursday about the statewide increases.
holly@news-banner.com
