Elkhart Schools: SEA 1 will shrink taxable base, policy analysts warn of cash shortfall by 2028

At a public work session, Policy Analytics consultant April Fitterling told the Elkhart Community Schools board that Indiana’s Senate Enrolled Act 1 will substantially reduce the district’s taxable base and create recurring “unfunded credits” that shrink revenue available for operations.

Fitterling summarized SEA 1 as a five‑year package of changes that increases homestead deductions, creates a 10 percent or $300 maximum homestead credit, expands new deductions for the 2 percent tax class, and raises the business personal property exemption threshold. She said those elements together will lower Elkhart’s net assessed value and compress revenue in coming years.

Why it matters: net assessed value is the starting point for local levies; deductions and credits reduce the amount on which levies are calculated.…