District launches referendum website and presents sample tax impacts; board shares voter calculator

Northwest Allen County Schools on July 21 reviewed an operating‑referendum information site and sample tax‑impact scenarios aimed at helping voters see how a proposed operating referendum would affect individual property tax bills under the changes created by Senate Enrolled Act 1.

Superintendent Becker and communications staff said the district’s new referendum page (linked on NACS’s homepage) centralizes presentations, data, a downloadable flyer comparing district funding per pupil to peers, and a tax calculator with a QR code so residents can enter their own assessed value and township to estimate the referendum’s effect. "It's on our main NACS dot k12 dot IN dot us on the main page underneath operating referendum," a staff member said during the meeting.

The board presented four illustrative examples to show both the Act 1 impact and the referendum effect. For a Perry Township homeowner with a gross assessed value of $350,000, the district showed a 2025 tax bill of $2,672.76 that would drop under Senate Enrolled Act 1 to $2,319.48 in 2026; if an operating referendum passed, the example showed an added $505 annually for a 2026 bill of $2,824.49 — an increase of $151.73 compared with 2025. For a $700,000 Perry Township home the district displayed a $1,090.27 referendum impact ($485.83 higher than 2025). For agriculture and large‑acre landowners the presentation gave two farm examples: a 39.6‑acre parcel assessed at $84,500 with a $221.37 referendum impact and a 120.2‑acre parcel assessed at $193,800 with a $507.71 referendum impact. The district provided those examples as illustrations and encouraged residents to use the calculator for precise figures.

Communications staff member Mrs. Valdez demonstrated the referendum page, which she said includes: an overview of district operating and capital funds, a chart showing NACS receives about $8 million less per year than the state average, Policy Analytics charts on assessed‑value composition, a downloadable flyer comparing districts, the tax calculator with guidance on input values, links to policy analytics and Baker Tilly, board meeting materials, a voter‑registration link and an operating.referendum@nacs.k12.in.us mailbox for questions.

Board members said the site is intended to give voters neutral, factual information rather than advocacy. "We're not trying to make emotional appeals. We're trying to say here's the information and allow…voters to make the decision," a staff member said.

Ending: The district will continue to update the referendum page and to publish presentations and data; staff said they will assist residents who need help using the calculator.