Greater Clark County Schools holds public hearing on 2026 budget; board approves facilities, construction and other contracts

The Greater Clark County Schools Board of Trustees opened a public hearing Sept. 16 on the district's proposed 2026 corporate budget and then, during its regular meeting, approved an amendment to its facilities management contract, a guaranteed-maximum-price construction contract for phase 1 of the Founders Point elementary project, multiple consent items and other routine actions.

The hearing allowed the public to comment after a presentation from the district finance officer on the budget, which the district advertised with a $2 tax rate to protect against assessed-value volatility and potential effects of Senate Bill 1. Chief Financial Officer Huebinger told the board the district had advertised a $2 rate “to accommodate the fluctuating assessed value and the Senate bill 1 that's coming our way” and said current assessed value (AV) figures published since the budget was drafted showed an increase of just over 6 percent from last year; the budget estimate used an 8 percent AV increase.

Huebinger said the advertised $2 rate is a protective measure and explained debt-service and operations details that affect the tax rate. She said a district debt-service line item appeared to rise about 150 percent because reserves are included there now but will be reduced to lower the effective rate (noting a past rate of $0.69 and projecting it near $0.75 after adjustments). She also said the operations fund is limited to a 4 percent increase and that circuit breaker tax caps will reduce expected revenues: the district is projecting $21,000,000 in operations levy revenue but may realize closer to $12,000,000 because of caps.

The hearing and budget presentation also included discussion of how Senate Bill 1 could progressively reduce the district's revenue picture through 2028–29, prompting district leaders to plan conservatively. The public hearing concluded with the board closing the hearing with no public speakers recorded following the presentation.

In a separate financial report required by state law, Huebinger presented a teacher-compensation statement anchored to the Indiana funding rules. She said the district’s reported teacher-compensation percentage for the last fiscal reporting period was 61.19 percent, below a cited requirement of 62 percent under Indiana Code provisions the CFO referenced. Huebinger noted three factors that affect that figure: transfers from the education fund to the district’s health-insurance plan (which lower the reported percentage because salaries-and-benefits are aggregated), timing differences in pay cycles (the report covered July 1–June 30 and may not reflect raises with pay-cycle timing), and state-calculated funding-floor formulas produced by the Indiana Department of Education.

Huebinger said the district spent $39,700,000 compared with a funding-floor benchmark of $37,000,000 (a $2,700,000 difference) and that state law (as cited) asks districts to try not to transfer more than 15 percent of education-fund dollars to other funds; she said the district has been estimating transfers in the 12–13 percent range and transferred 11.97 percent last year.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of agenda: approved by voice vote.
- Approval of regular and public-hearing meeting minutes: approved by motion and second; approved by voice vote.
- Acceptance of gifts to buildings totaling $12,335.59 (amount reported in meeting packet): approved by voice vote.
- Appointment of Jim Grom to Jeffersonville Township Public Library Board (Greater Clark appointment): approved by voice vote.
- Memorandum of understanding with the Indiana Institute of Technology (20% discount to Greater Clark graduates starting in 2025 and to district employees/spouses for specified online programs; traditional on-campus programs excluded): approved by voice vote.
- Letter of intent with Millennium Builders (to begin permitting and plat work and to authorize preliminary steps ahead of a final land-sale contract): approved by voice vote.
- Data-sharing agreement for the ALEKS Adventure pilot (grades K and 3) with McGraw Hill and an independent analysis by Johns Hopkins University using de-identified student data: approved by voice vote.
- Amendment to the facilities-management agreement with Perfection Group (adds custodial staff, supervisory positions; increases monthly contract amount by $53,110 starting Oct. 1; revised annual contract amount reported at $9,160,000; Perfection Group retains a guaranteed savings figure of $346,000): approved by voice vote.
- Guaranteed-maximum-price (GMP) contract with Core Construction for phase 1 of Founders Point (earthwork and concrete): GMP $12,019,795; the board approved the phase-1 contract by voice vote.

Facilities and construction approvals

Board members approved an amendment to the district's facilities-management contract with Perfection Group to add staff and supervision for Jeffersonville (Jeff) High School and districtwide floating custodial coverage. CFO Huebinger said the amendment requests seven additional daytime custodians dedicated to Jeff High, three additional full-time equivalents to float across the district, an additional day custodian to cover a midday shift at Jeff High, and one supervisor to monitor those added staff. The amendment increases the monthly contract amount by $53,110 effective Oct. 1 and produces a revised annual contract value the district reported as $9,160,000. Huebinger said Perfection Group still guarantees $346,000 in savings under the agreement.

Separately, the board approved a phase-1 guaranteed-maximum-price contract with Core Construction for Founders Point (described in the meeting packet as covering earthwork and concrete). The GMP for phase 1 was listed as $12,019,795 and will be funded from bonds the district authorized earlier this year; the superintendent and staff said the district will stage borrowing and payments to limit interest exposure.

Other business

The board approved a letter of intent allowing Millennium Builders to begin permit and plat activities related to a previously selected development project and authorized district staff to execute final documents once the purchase contract is complete.

The board accepted gifts to schools (listed in the meeting packet) supporting athletics and arts programs and approved the district's nomination of Jim Grom to the Jeffersonville Township Public Library Board after the previously nominated appointee was found not to meet statutory qualifications.

District staff also presented an education-data agreement for a free pilot of the ALEKS Adventure supplemental math program in kindergarten and third grade. The agreement permits the district to share de-identified student data with McGraw Hill for program evaluation; Johns Hopkins University was cited as the independent analyst for the impact study.

The board approved a memorandum of understanding with the Indiana Institute of Technology to offer a 20 percent tuition reduction to Greater Clark graduates enrolling beginning in 2025 and to district employees or their spouses for specified online programs; traditional on-campus programs were excluded from the discount as described in the MOU.

What the board said

Board members who attended reflected on a recent Indiana School Boards Association conference; several trustees said they brought back ideas they hope to adapt for Greater Clark. Trustees commended district staff for planning that they said positioned the district to respond to impending state-level changes on funding and teacher-pay mandates.

Meeting context and next steps

Board discussion emphasized planning conservatively for the potential revenue impacts of Senate Bill 1 and for circuit-breaker caps on property-tax collections. The CFO said the district will continue to estimate transfers in the 12–13 percent range and will try to remain below the 15 percent guidance in Indiana Code. Several approvals at the meeting were intended to address near-term operational needs—especially custodial staffing at Jeff High—and to start long-lead construction work before winter.

The board adjourned after routine final comments and a motion to adjourn passed by voice vote.