Northwest Allen County Schools presents $170 million next-decade plan; says operating referendum needed to staff new CTE facility

Northwest Allen County Schools administrators presented a draft 10-year capital plan to the Board of School Trustees at the district’s reorganizational meeting, outlining multiple building projects with an estimated total near $170 million and a timeline that could open a CTE and alternative-school facility for the 2027 school year.

The presentation, led by Superintendent Wayne Barker and district staff, included cost and timeline estimates for a CTE/alternative-school facility, a transportation center, a natatorium, athletic turf projects and a possible ninth elementary school. Administrators said the projects are estimates and that the district plans staggered issuances and multiple years of work rather than a single, immediate bond package.

Administrators said the district’s worksheets add to roughly $164 million in project estimates, a figure the district used when discussing a roughly $170 million “worst-case” scenario. “I just want to reiterate to everybody that these are estimates,” Mr. Basham said during the slide presentation. The district also told the board it models assessed value growth conservatively at 5% even though recent actual growth averaged higher.

Why it matters: district leaders said the CTE facility is meant to expand hands-on career and…