INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Voters in Marion County’s Pike Township Schools district on Tuesday will decide if they want to approve a tax increase that would increase funding.

MJ Slaby, bureau chief with Chalkbeat Indiana, talked on Monday’s “Daybreak” about the measure.

Reason for the tax proposal

Slaby says the Pike Township Schools referendum is essentially a three-part funding plan for the district: paying staff and programming; funding to help attract and retain quality staff; and invest in safety upgrades (School resources officers, safety personnel, etc.

“The rate that Pike is looking for is 24 cents per $100 of assessed property value for eight years. For the average property owner, that’s about $295 each year. That comes out to an estimated annual revenue of $14.5 million,” Slaby said.

Sharing money with charter schools

If the tax increase passes, Pike Township will have to share money with charter schools in the district due to a new state law. Slaby says the legislature passed that law because charter schools don’t have the same ability to propose referendums.

“One of the things that charter schools sometimes struggle with is being able to fund buildings. So, this law passes a way to allow charters to have an opportunity to share this money,” Slaby said.

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