Consultant: Senate Enrolled Act 1 will shrink districts' taxable base, forcing levy and borrowing choices for MSD Wabash County Schools

April Federling, an analyst with Policy Analytics, told the MSD Wabash County Schools board at a work session that provisions of Senate Enrolled Act 1 will shrink districts’ net assessed value and shift tax burden among residential, agricultural and business property over the next decade.

“By the end in 2031, your home will be taxed on 1 third of its value,” Federling said, summarizing the phased changes to the homestead and supplemental deductions. She described the presentation as “preliminary” modeling based on 2–4% growth in assessed values and said a parcel-level update for the district is forthcoming.

The nut of Federling’s presentation: the law increases homeowner and business deductions and creates a new local property tax credit that will lower homeowners’ tax bills but reduce revenue flowing to school districts. Federling described three central changes: phasing out the standard homestead deduction over six years while increasing the supplemental deduction; a homeowner credit equal to 10% of liability (capped at $300) starting in 2026; and a substantial raise to the business personal property exemption threshold from $80,000 to $2,000,000 beginning in 2027.

Why it matters: the district’s net assessed…