NACS trustees outline operating-referendum plan, approve consultant contract

Mr. Barker, superintendent of Northwest Allen County Schools, told the board the district is proposing an operating referendum to help close a persistent funding gap and to shore up operations and education budgets.

At the Feb. 10 meeting Mr. Barker said the district is underfunded compared with the state average and estimates that, combined across the education and operations funds, NACS is about $7,950,000 below the state average in 2024. He also warned proposed state legislation could reduce property-tax revenue further, estimating an additional possible loss of about $4,500,000 under one bill discussed in the Legislature; together those figures mean the district could face roughly $12,500,000 in reduced revenue under the scenarios discussed.

The presentation described how NACS’ education fund (tuition support and related state dollars) and operations fund (primarily property taxes) fund different responsibilities: the education fund covers teachers, classroom assistants and instructional materials while the operations fund pays for custodial staff, utilities, building maintenance, transportation and district-level services. Staff described limits on transfers between funds and recent expense drivers including a 34% rise in special education costs and a 77.5% increase in ELL-related costs recorded over the last two years.

Mr. Basham, the district business officer, and Dr. Bidding, assistant superintendent for operations, reviewed proposals for how referendum dollars could be used if voters approve them. Uses discussed included salary increases to attract and retain staff, adding school resource officers and a district school-safety specialist, expanding nursing and social-work coverage, hiring additional instructional coaches and high-ability teachers, adding CTE staffing for the planned CTE/alternative center, and one-time and recurring operations costs such as camera and server upgrades. The board was repeatedly told the list was preliminary and would be refined in later work.

On legal and scheduling risk, Mr. Barker reviewed three bills then under consideration in the Indiana Legislature that would limit when local referenda can appear on ballots (Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 8 and House Bill 1681 as discussed). He said the bills had not become law and cautioned that proposed laws could change during the session, but that staff would continue planning under current law.

The board unanimously approved a contract recommendation to retain the Winston Terrell Group to assist the district’s referendum effort. Mr. Barker said Mr. Winston told him the firm would honor the contract even if timetable changes are required because of possible legislation. The motion to approve the contract was made by Ms. Schlatter, seconded by Mr. Vogt, and carried.

After the vote, trustees directed staff to create a timeline from then through Nov. 4, 2025, listing steps required for a successful referendum effort and to continue refining details of proposed uses and the public outreach plan.

The district emphasized the presentation and the contract approval were procedural steps to support continued planning; no tax rate or final referendum question was presented or adopted at the meeting.