Superintendent Hile makes case for Noblesville operating referendum

By DANIEL G. HILE, Ph.D
Guest Columnist

While I know many Noblesville residents are still enjoying a summer break away from school, I wanted to share a message with the community regarding the referendum proposal Noblesville Schools announced last month, and some confusion and inaccurate information I am seeing about it.

The Noblesville community has supported referendum school funding for the past 16 years and that funding is set to expire at the end of 2026. Residents will be voting on a new referendum proposal on the Nov. 3 election ballot to consider whether to continue this funding that makes up approximately 20 percent of the Noblesville Schools operating budget.

Referendum dollars fund things like (1) science, technology, engineering, and math programming, (2) college/career and workforce development programming, (3) recruiting and retaining strong teachers, (4) school safety, (5) mental health services, (6) extracurricular opportunities, and (7) appropriate class sizes. These referendum dollars cannot be used for buildings, athletic facilities, construction projects, or to repay debt.

Without referendum funding, the district would face substantial reductions in staff, services, and programs that directly impact students, families, local businesses, and the community at large.

I am seeing some confusion in the community about the specifics of the referendum proposal and some incorrect information circulating on social media. School finance is complicated and different from personal finance, and things are especially confusing this year with the new SEA1 property tax legislation that made significant changes to how schools are funded.

The most common misunderstanding I’m seeing involves how much the referendum will cost taxpayers.

The current referendum rate is 37 cents per every $100 dollars of net assessed value and the proposed maximum rate is 57 cents. The proposed maximum rate is higher than the current rate because of how SEA1 property tax legislation reduces funding for schools. The district needs a higher maximum rate to bring in a comparable amount of money.

That does not mean a significant increase for taxpayers, though. The average annual increase over all eight years of the referendum for a resident with a $350,000 home would be $2.30 more per month than they are paying currently.

Ballot language is regulated by the state and must be worded and calculated a certain way. The 2026 referendum ballot question will say “If this operating referendum public question is approved by the voters, for a median residence of $350,000, the property’s annual property tax bill would increase by $955 per year.”

It’s important to note that the $955 per year increase referred to on the ballot assumes no current referendum, but Noblesville residents have already been supporting a referendum for the last 16 years.

The math used to calculate the $955 per year also assumes that Noblesville Schools will take the full 57 cent rate in 2027. This is not the case and we have already committed publicly that the district will set a rate no higher than 41 cents for 2027. If assessed values come in higher than anticipated, that rate will be even lower. The district plans to use only what is needed to maintain current funding support, and will not use the maximum 57 cent rate for all eight years.

Looking forward, the ballot language also doesn’t take into account the new homeowner savings from SEA1 legislation that will be phasing in over the next few years. Even with the new referendum, SEA1 means taxes will be lower than they would be otherwise.

After accounting for these factors, the average annual increase over all eight years for a resident with a $350,000 home would be $2.30 more per month than they are paying currently.

We take our role as stewards of your taxpayer dollars seriously; our top priority is to deliver the most outstanding educational programming possible for the children we serve, while minimizing the impact on our taxpayers.

Some examples of this include the fact that we have lowered our portion of the tax rate for the past seven years, cut $4 million in spending in the past year, frozen administrator salaries for the past two years, reduced administrative leadership positions, and launched a financial transparency and education site Dollars + $ense.

Please know that as an institution dedicated to education and ethical leadership, integrity, and honesty are core values for us. We expect the community to have tough questions and hold us accountable for how we are spending your money and you can expect that we will share accurate, truthful information.

I will be personally hosting dozens of meetings throughout the community in the coming months and look forward to meeting you, explaining the referendum proposal in more detail, and thoroughly answering any questions you may have.

In the meantime, you can also visit noblesvilleschools.org/referendum for answers to many common questions about the referendum.

Thank you for your careful consideration of this important proposal. I am truly honored to serve as your superintendent, and I feel blessed every day to live and work in our amazing community.

Dr. Dan Hile serves as the superintendent of Noblesville Schools.