Residents say 2022–23 Monroe County school tax referenda expanded pre-K and funded teacher and staff pay increases

Four residents using the meeting's public-comment period praised the Monroe County Community School Corporation's 2022 and 2023 tax referenda for expanding early learning and funding raises and supplies for school staff and students.

Commenter 1, a parent and resident, said the two referenda together invest "approximately $22,600,000 each year in 4 voter approved areas," including "early learning, teachers and staff, curricular enrichment and student support, and student school supplies." Commenter 1 thanked the community for voting yes to "sustain excellence in our schools."

The residents credited the 2023 referendum with expanding pre-K and reducing or eliminating tuition. "The pre k program helped me a lot financially as a single dad to help make ends meet. It's truly a lifesaver for parents," Commenter 1 said, adding that in one year "the number of children attending pre k through MCCSC and partner programs has more than doubled." Commenter 2, who said she is a working parent, described full-day pre-K and extended-day services as a financial relief: "I haven't had to pay for it. We were able, thankfully, to get the help and the assistance."

Speakers also described how the 2022 referendum supported compensation and supplies. Commenter 1 said voters approved raises of $4,500 "for teachers and salaried staff" and a $2.25 hourly raise "on top of 1.5% raises" for support staff, and that the 2022 referendum "also supported free student school supplies." Commenter 2 said the school-supply program has helped her budget as a single mother.

All remarks recorded in the transcript were public comment; the transcript does not show any formal board motion, vote, or decision during this segment. The statements describe how residents and parents perceive the effects of the two referenda but do not provide exact enrollment counts, contract language, or board action minutes. Where speakers offered numbers, the transcript reports them as approximate (for example, "approximately $22,600,000 each year" and "more than doubled" enrollment); the transcript does not give precise pre-K enrollment totals or the district's budget line items in the excerpt provided.

The public comments combined personal experience (immediate family impacts and ability to work) with summary descriptions of the referenda's spending priorities. No speaker proposed a new action for the school corporation during this segment, and there is no record in the provided transcript of a superintendent or school board member replying in this excerpt.

The Monroe County Community School Corporation is referenced in the transcript by the acronym MCCSC; the speakers attribute program expansions and pay increases to the district's two recent tax referenda.