Voters will determine the results of two special elections in Lake County on Tuesday, but there are no candidates on the ballot.
At stake are two school property tax measures at neighboring Lake Central and Hanover Central Community Schools.
Chesterton-based Duneland School Corp. is also voting on the referendum.
Hanover and Central Lake counties are asking voters to renew existing referendums that they say will continue to fund student transportation, teacher and uncertified worker salaries, utility costs, safety and student programs.
Political Action Committees (PACs) were formed to support both school districts in their efforts to revive previous successful referendums.
The 2018 Lake Central referendum passed with 53% of the vote.
This time, the county increased the rate from 17 cents to 26.14 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Officials said the property tax breaks homeowners will receive under a new property tax relief law — Senate Bill 1 — will offset the referendum tax increase.
The voting school district boundaries include parts of Dyer, St. John, Schererville and unincorporated areas of Lake County.
The property tax relief legislation is expected to reduce Lake Central revenue by about $12.3 million over a three-year period through 2028, according to the state Legislative Services Agency. The district used Policy Analytics to take a deeper look at its revenue picture.
The new law also states that counties can only hold referendums during a statewide general election, not during a primary or general election.
If approved, the referendum would bring about $17.8 million annually to Lake Central. Officials said $12 million will be allocated to retain teachers and staff. Additionally, the spending plan includes $2 million to maintain class sizes and $1.7 million for student health and safety programs.
Lauren Bridgeman, a member of the Friends of Lake Central political action committee, said supporters are knocking on doors to make sure voters understand what's at stake.
She has taught math and science for 10 years at Clark High School.
“We typically get a lot of good feedback from the community,” she said.
She said committee members are telling voters about revenue from the last referendum, the district has added three police officers in schools, counselors, nurses, reading specialists and math coaches at all levels.
Money from the referendum will be used to support the spending plan, she said. Lake Central has approximately 9,200 students.
Bridgeman said more than 2,000 people have already voted.
She said there was confusion with an online calculator that estimates the cost of a homeowner's referendum on the state Department of Local Government website.
She said the DLGF calculator is misleading because it leads people to believe their taxes will rise sharply.
“We have a calculator on our website, and even if the referendum is approved, their taxes will go down,” she said. This is largely due to the new property tax law.
The Friends of Lake Central website is supportlakecentral.com.
Bridgman said referendum supporters are also telling voters about the impact of Senate Enrollment Act 1, which cuts the money the county will receive over the next three years and returns it to taxpayers.
If the referendum fails, officials said they would have to make difficult decisions about budget cuts that would impact students, such as larger class sizes, fewer teachers and cuts to course offerings and extracurricular activities.
Meanwhile, the Hanover Community School Corporation in Cedar Lake is seeking an extension of its third referendum to raise just over $5 million annually. In 2020, it passed with 60% of the vote.
Property taxes will remain at 29 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Information about the referendum is posted on the county website at hanover.k12.in.us/referendum.
About $2.5 million of the referendum funds will be spent to keep class sizes small; $1.5 million for busing and $759,000 for school resource officers.
“I'm cautiously optimistic we have a lot of supportive parents and we've done a great job,” Superintendent Mary Tracey-Macaulay said.
She said revenue from bus service is critical because of the rapid growth of community subdivisions. The small district of about 2,800 students has added 730 students since 2015, or a 33% increase.
Tracey-Macaulay said the county had to create a one-mile pedestrian zone two years ago. “This area is just booming,” she said.
The boom has slowed due to the city's water moratorium, but Tracey-Macaulay expects more homes to be built once it is resolved.
“We're holding the line, but with SEA 1 we're going to lose about $6.1 million over the next three years,” she said of the property tax relief legislation.
She said the referendum would fund about 125 jobs and allow for more student programs.
Andy Jakubik, who heads the political action committee Friends of Hanover Community Schools, said voter turnout is critical.
“Many people don't know it's on the ballot, and the state's new language is misleading, indicating a 43% increase in the language on the ballot.
“It's a shame, no one knows how the state came to the figure of 43%. The state hasn't shown us its work.”
“They're trying to take away the ability of counties to hold referendums. Now they only participate in statewide elections.”
He said SEA 1 also resulted in a 5% cut to Hanover's budget and if the referendum fails it would mean an 11% cut.
“There comes a point when you can’t cut off anything extra,” he said.
Jakubik said his family moved to the Cedar Lake area about 30 years ago because he and his wife wanted smaller schools for their children.
“The number of cuts, if they lose, will be painful. It will really hit the bus service, the cost of buses will almost double,” he said.
Early voting for both special elections is open until noon Monday at the Lake County Early Elections and Registration Commission office, 2293 N. Main St., in Crown Point; St. John Township Assessor's Office, 9157 Wicker Ave.; and Schererville Town Hall, 10 E. Joliet St.
Carol Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
