By Tim Arnett
WABASH,Indiana – At one of the shortest Wabash City Schools Board meetings in recent memory Monday night, the board passed the referendum tax levy that will now be put on the May 3rd Wabash County Primary election ballot. If voted in, city residents will see their property taxes rise $50 for an average house per year for seven years – all to help support the programs, activities and high academic standards of Wabash City Schools. The school board passed the referendum unanimously and several board members, like new member Jordan Tandy, called the money that would be raised an “investment,” not only in the school system but also in the community itself.
At Monday night’s meeting, Superintendent Jason Callahan once again reiterated why the school corporation will potentially be $319,000 in the red by December if nothing is done. In addition to the school district not receiving as much money for the state as hoped, enrollment is down. This is important because, as is often said at school board meetings, the amount of money a school corporation gets correlates directly to the number of students it has.
The proposal on the upcoming ballot allows for an increase of $0.28 on $100 of accessed value and residents would pay that higher amount in their property taxes for seven years. Callahan said that the increase on assessed value could not go up in that time and could actually come down.
To answer some of the questions residents might have on the upcoming ballot measure, Wabash City Schools will hold the first of several public meetings on Tuesday, February 9th at 6 pm in the Wabash Middle School Auditorium. There, Superintendent Callahan is expected to give a presentation on why the referendum is necessary, in addition to answering questions. He has also agreed to be on this week’s Wabash Talks which airs this Sunday morning at a new time, 9 am right here on 105.9 The Bash, to explaining the measure.
Wabash City Schools Superintendent Jason Callahan on how the referendum is essentially an investment in the community.
He went on to say that the measure, if voted in, will help to make Wabash City Schools not only the best school system in the county, but possibly the best school system in the entire state. A website explaining the issue will be up and running next week. Chief Business Officer Matt Stone told MiBash News that the website will feature a link where a homeowner can put in the exact value of their property and see exactly how much they’ll be paying due to the referendum. Stone went on to say that the school system doesn’t want to make anymore cuts to classes or increase classroom sizes.
Wabash County Clerk Elaine Martin told MiBash News after the last school board meeting that it is very complicated to put what she calls a “public question” on the ballot. She added then that deadline for certifying the question for May’s primary ballot is February 19th. Callahan said Monday night that he is certain all the necessary legal steps for certification will be done by that time.