There were 14 school districts with referendums on the ballot Tuesday, including Beech Grove and Washington Township schools in the metro area. Full election results statewide could be delayed because of a higher-than-usual number of mail-in ballots expected to be cast due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Early results Tuesday night, though, showed at least two of the 18 total referendums passing — and two losing. Some districts had more than one question on the ballot.
Voters in Daviess County approved the Barr-Reeve Community Schools referendum with 62.6% in favor.
Wayne County voters supported the referendum for Western Wayne Schools, with 64.5% voting in favor.
The referendum for Crothersville Community Schools failed, with 54.3% of the district's voters in Jackson County voting against the measure.
New Albany-Floyd County Schools ran the state’s second ever referendum exclusively for school safety and security projects. It failed, with 52.5% voting against it.
Traditionally, primary referendums have fared better than those held during general elections but it’s unclear how voters will react to a request to raise property taxes during a time of such economic uncertainty.
Early results show voters supporting several other referendums.
Beech Grove City Schools and Washington Township Schools each had two referendums on the ballot — one to support their general operating expenses and another for capital projects. With 2 out of 22 vote centers reporting, all four were passing with at least 59% of voters supporting them.
Although Jana Pehler’s grown children did not attend Washington Township public schools, she said she was supporting the referenda to increase the district’s operating expenses and make capital investments in the schools.
"I never had a child go through the school system but it’s my neighborhood, children, the future,” said the Northside resident.
Robert Strickland does not agree. The 66-year-old man lives close to North Central High School and he does not like some of the plans, which he fears will bring more buses to what is basically his back yard.
“It’s going to add over 50 more buses,” he said. “All the stink and the noise. It’s going to be a parking lot.”
Bartholomew Consolidated Schools had 62% of the vote in early results, without any complete precincts but some incomplete and some absentee votes counted.
In Allen County, there were no complete precincts reporting but the first results — including some absentee ballots — had 72% of voters approving the Fort Wayne Community Schools referendum.
The current uncertainty, though, is also what makes referendums so crucial for schools – even if they didn’t know that when they put them on the ballot.
Indiana primary 2020: These are the school referendums on the ballot across the state
State revenues have plummeted and it’s unclear how quickly they’ll rebound. Gov. Eric Holcomb recently directed all state agencies to cut their 2021 budgets by 15%. Those cuts don't apply to schools but school finance experts have said the best case scenario will be school funding holding steady over the next few years but cuts aren’t out of the question.
Twelve districts ran referendums to boost their general operating expenses. They were:
- Barr-Reeve Community Schools
- Bartholomew Consolidated Schools
- Beech Grove City Schools
- Benton Community Schools
- Crothersville Community Schools
- Eminence Community Schools
- Hanover Community Schools
- Lanesville Community Schools
- South Bend Community Schools
- Union Township Schools
- Washington Township Schools
- Western Wayne Schools
Four of those districts — Beech Grove, Hanover, South Bend and Washington Township — simultaneously ran a second ballot initiative to support capital projects. Fort Wayne Schools also had a capital projects question on the primary ballot.
New Albany-Floyd County Schools ran the state’s second ever referendum exclusively for school safety and security projects. The new type of referendum was created by the legislature just last year. Carmel Clay Schools passed the first in November.
This story will be updated.
IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky contributed to this report.
Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.
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Indiana primary 2020: Results from school referendums - IndyStar
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