Hamilton Southeastern Schools reported an official enrollment of 19,849 students to the state of Indiana, the count that determines how much state tuition support the district will receive.

Tim Brown told the HSE School Board on Wednesday night that the official count landed within a few students of the district’s projection of 19,850.

The figure is down 440 students from last year’s official count of 20,289. It is the district’s seventh consecutive year of declining enrollment and the first time in a decade that HSE has dropped below 20,000 students. Enrollment peaked in 2019.

Because Indiana funds schools on a per-student basis, fewer students means less state money. Brown told the board’s finance committee in September that even with a roughly 1.46% increase in the per-student rate for 2027, the enrollment loss would leave HSE with about $582,000 less than this year.

No public comment on 2027 budget

No one spoke at the legally required public hearing on the proposed 2027 budget. The plan is unchanged at $323.9 million, with a tax rate of $1.1912 per $100 of assessed value. The 2026 rate is $1.1476.

The legally advertised budget is higher, at $325.9 million with a tax rate of $1.2517. Districts routinely advertise numbers above their expected spending because the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance can lower a budget during its review but cannot raise it.

New health insurance options

The board approved 2027 health insurance rates for certified staff (teachers), support staff and administrators.

Employees will choose from six plans during open enrollment in November. Three are new plans tied to the Community Health Network provider system. These plans will cost employees less, while the more traditional, higher-cost plans remain available.

Brown projects about half of employees will choose one of the Community plans.

Health insurance costs have been a major issue at HSE. Last year’s teacher contract included no base salary increase but provided a one-time district contribution to teachers’ health savings accounts to help offset steep premium increases.

HSE is now bargaining a new contract with the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, the local teachers union. Brown said the union has certified its support for the health insurance changes.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools students led comparable districts in third-grade reading and set district records for Advanced Placement success, administrators told the HSE Board of School Trustees on Wednesday night.

 Assistant Superintendent of Foundational Learning Dr. Danielle Fetters-Thompson and Jason Urban, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools, presented the district’s annual academic report. It covered state reading and math tests, the SAT and AP exams.

Reading

HSE posted a 97.3% pass rate on IREAD-3, Indiana’s foundational literacy test. That rate was the highest among similar districts. The district defines those as the other Hoosier Crossroads Conference schools plus Carmel and Center Grove.

HSE tested 1,426 students, more than any other district in Indiana. Among districts testing more than 558 students, HSE had the highest pass rate in the state. Eleven of the district’s 13 elementary schools met or exceeded the state’s 95% goal, and three schools had a 100% pass rate.

Ten of 11 student demographic groups improved over last year, and every group passed at 90% or higher. Black students passed at 95.5% and special education students at 86%, each the highest among comparable districts. The pass rate for multiracial students dipped three-tenths of a percentage point, and Fetters-Thompson said the district will address that decline.

Students first take IREAD in second grade. This year, 83% of HSE second-graders passed. That lets teachers focus interventions on the remaining students from the first day of third grade.

“That culture in our buildings has become one of: all students will become proficient readers,” Fetters-Thompson said.

ILEARN

Indiana redesigned ILEARN for 2025-26. Students now take three checkpoint tests during the year, followed by a shorter spring assessment. Because the test changed, the Indiana Department of Education has said results should not be compared with prior years.

HSE students in grades 3-8 were 66.4% proficient in English/language arts and 68.1% proficient in math. Both figures were more than 24 percentage points above the state averages. Seventh- and eighth-graders ranked first in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference in three of four content areas.

Among comparable districts, HSE placed third, behind two districts. “We’ve got some work to do,” Fetters-Thompson said.

Board member Sarah Parks Reese asked her to stress that those percentages are not letter grades. Fetters-Thompson said ILEARN closely tracks the National Assessment of Educational Progress, one of the most demanding tests in the country.

SAT and AP

All Indiana juniors take the SAT. HSE ranked third among comparable districts and moved up one spot in evidence-based reading and writing. Urban pointed to strong growth at Hamilton Southeastern High School.

Urban called it a “banner year” for AP. At Fishers High School, 58% of last year’s graduates earned at least one AP score of 3 or higher, a district record. A score of 3 typically earns college credit. Hamilton Southeastern High School posted a record 89.3% AP success rate.

Across the district, the number of AP exams taken rose 25% from 2025. The number of students taking exams rose 14%, and the number of qualifying scores rose 26%. Urban said success rates have climbed each year even as the district has opened AP courses to more students.

AP Precalculus was offered for the first time last year. It produced more exams than any other AP course and a 98% success rate.

“Strong results are worth celebrating, but they also show us where we can continue to improve,” Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley said in a statement released during the meeting.

Central Indiana is in for a wild ride this week, moving from record-setting heat to possible frost in just a few days.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis issued a hazardous weather outlook Wednesday morning calling for showers and thunderstorms at times through Thursday night. A few storms could become strong to severe Wednesday afternoon and again Thursday, with damaging winds and heavy rain as the main threats.

Forecasters expect about 1 to 2 inches of rain across central Indiana through Thursday night. Drivers in Fishers should watch for standing water on roads during heavier downpours.

The rain follows two straight days of record heat. Indianapolis hit 87 degrees Monday, breaking the Oct. 12 record of 86 degrees set in 1879. On Tuesday, the thermometer reached 88 degrees, beating the 86-degree mark from 1975.

The weather service said Tuesday marked the latest date in the year that Indianapolis has ever reached 88 degrees. The previous latest was Oct. 10, 2010. Temperature records in Indianapolis go back to 1871.

The heat continues a warm stretch for the region. The weather service reports September 2026 was the warmest September on record in Indianapolis, with an average temperature of 73.8 degrees.

Official records are kept at Indianapolis International Airport, but Fishers residents felt the same summerlike conditions early this week.

That warmth is about to disappear. A strong cold front will bring wind gusts of 35 to 40 mph Friday, along with much cooler air. High school football fans heading to Friday night games will want to dress in layers.

By Saturday, temperatures will run well below normal. National Weather Service meteorologist Alexander McGinnis said the forecast high of 57 degrees and low of 38 degrees for Saturday are each about 10 degrees below typical for the date.

“The fact that we’re going from record highs to 10 degrees below normal will be quite a shock factor,” McGinnis said.

The weather service says widespread frost is possible Saturday night, with a localized freeze possible in colder areas. The average first frost date in Indianapolis is Oct. 17, so the timing is about right for the season, even if it comes on the heels of record heat.

Gardeners in Fishers and across Hamilton County should consider covering tender plants or bringing potted plants indoors Saturday evening. A frost will likely end the growing season for many annuals and vegetable gardens.

Temperatures are expected to warm back into the 60s by Sunday afternoon.

The Hamilton East Public Library Fishers Branch officially opened its renovated Youth Services area Tuesday afternoon with a ribbon cutting. It wasn’t a quiet event.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness joked it was the first time he had ever yelled in a library. He had plenty of company. Youngsters roamed the space during the ceremony, trying out the new features as fast as they could find them.

The library invited children to explore the renovated area, which includes cozy treehouse-inspired reading nooks, an updated play area, additional seating and renovated children’s program rooms. Families will also find special toys selected for the new space.

Library Director Melissa Loiselle welcomed the crowd and thanked those who helped make the project happen.

The opening marks the end of many years of construction at the downtown Fishers library, which sits next to the Nickel Plate Trail and the Fishers Municipal Center.

The library’s makeover started in 2018 with the opening of Ignite Studio, an arts-focused makerspace in the lower level formerly occupied by Launch Fishers. Major construction followed in 2021. That phase moved the main entrance to a new two-story lobby on the north side of the building, expanded parking and reworked traffic flow and connections to the Nickel Plate Trail. Plans at the time also called for improvements to the youth services areas, including the children’s and teen spaces.

Supply-chain problems slowed the work. In 2023, library officials put the cost of the Fishers renovation at $16.1 million, including a new roof for the entire building, and said the project was designed to serve the community for the next 20 years.

Patrons have worked around fences, detours and closed entrances for much of that time. On Tuesday, the payoff was easy to see — and hear — in the faces of the kids who got the first run of the place.

The Hamilton East Public Library serves residents of Fishers and Noblesville, and one library card works at both branches.  A third library building is in the works on Olio Road in Wayne Township.

Here are a few photos of young people enjoying the new space.

Fishers officials want firmer assurances that reconstruction of the roundabout at Olio Road and Southeastern Parkway can be completed before winter weather leaves motorists and nearby businesses facing months of disruption.

Engineering Director Hatem Mekky told the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety Tuesday morning that the contractor continues to assure his department the work will be finished this fall. But Mekky said he is seeking confirmation this week that construction can be completed by year’s end.

Mayor Scott Fadness said the city must weigh how much work to undertake this fall against the risk of leaving the intersection under construction through the winter.

“I think what we are debating now is – we don’t want to get halfway through (the construction) and then the weather changes and then we’re stuck with it until next spring,” Fadness said. “Do you nibble around the edges, so to speak, this fall, then try to get it all done next spring and not worry about weather, or can we push through and get it done this year?”

Mekky said maintaining limited traffic through the construction area is another key consideration. Closing portions of the intersection, only to have winter weather halt the work, could create prolonged access problems for nearby businesses and medical facilities.

Those discussions are taking place this week, Mekky said, and he hopes to have answers soon.

The city’s online construction information also reflects uncertainty about the schedule. Its construction overview lists November 2026 completion, while the more detailed roundabout project page lists January 2027.

According to the project page, E&B Paving LLC was awarded the construction contract with a bid of approximately $6.73 million (amendments and change orders have upped the price tag to just under $6.9 million). The city says the reconstruction is intended to improve traffic flow, make lane choices easier and reduce rear-end and sideswipe crashes. The planned changes include permanently closing the roundabout’s fifth leg and providing a new connection between Southeastern Parkway and 136th Street.

The city says nearby businesses and medical facilities will remain accessible during construction, although access routes may change. Emergency access is to be maintained throughout the project.

The board’s discussion came as members approved an amendment and a change order related to the roundabout work.

In other business:

• Police vehicles: The board accepted a bid from Don Hinds Ford to purchase 12 police SUVs for just under $546,000. The purchase replaces vehicles that have reached the end of their useful lives for police work and have been traded in. The Fishers Police Department has a fleet of 184 SUVs.
• Maple Del: Members approved a sanitary sewer agreement for the residential development. Fadness said the agreement is the final step needed to begin construction. The action follows the Redevelopment Commission’s Oct. 6 approval of agreement changes allowing David Weekley Homes to take over construction of 54 townhomes and eight single-family homes, as detailed in earlier coverage.
• City technology: The board approved contracts for human resources and payroll systems, along with renewals covering support, monitoring and alerting software for city systems.

A limited number of all-session tickets for the first-ever Big Ten Volleyball Tournament at Fishers Event Center go on sale to the general public Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 11 a.m. ET at FishersEventCenter.com.

The tournament, set for Nov. 20-25, marks a new chapter for one of the strongest conferences in college volleyball. For the first time, the top 15 teams in the Big Ten regular-season standings will gather at one venue to compete for a conference tournament title, and that venue is in Fishers.

Fishers Event Center, which opened in November 2024 and seats 7,500, is already home to the Indy Ignite of Major League Volleyball. The arena also hosts the Indy Fuel of the ECHL and the Fishers Freight of the Indoor Football League.

The tournament opens with three first-round matches, followed by four second-round matches. Play then moves through the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the championship match scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 25. One off day is built into the schedule.

Fans will also be able to visit the Big Ten Fan Village, which will feature activities, vendors and more. The Fan Village will be open daily Nov. 20-25, with more details to be announced.

The Big Ten has long been regarded as the nation’s premier volleyball conference. Current member schools have combined for 22 NCAA Division I championships, including 12 of the last 20. Big Ten teams have played in eight of the nine most-watched college volleyball matches of all time, and six Big Ten regular-season matches last season drew television audiences of more than 500,000 viewers across three networks.

The conference has also led Division I volleyball in attendance every season since 2007, with its matches regularly drawing some of the largest crowds in the college game.

The Indianapolis area has become a regular stop for Big Ten championships. This year alone, conference titles in men’s and women’s indoor track and field, women’s basketball and rowing have been decided in the region.

Ticket information is available at FishersEventCenter.com.

The Fishers City Council has put the Heart and Soul Church rezoning request on hold for at least 30 days to give city staff more time to review the proposal.

“Heart and Soul Church project is going to be delayed 30 days to allow city staff to do more research before we take action,” Council President John DeLucia announced at the start of Monday night’s meeting.

DeLucia did not say after the meeting what research the city is conducting. However, residents near the site raised traffic concerns during the Plan Commission public hearing earlier this month, and the city is expected to complete a traffic study of the area before the Council votes.

The Plan Commission fell one vote short of sending a favorable recommendation to the Council at its October meeting.  This resulted in a no recommendation to the Council

The church wants to rezone 18.66 acres at 11616 E. 126th St. from the Lake Meadows planned unit development and R5 Residential to a new Heart and Soul Community Campus PUD. A PUD is a custom zoning district with rules written for a single development. The new zoning would allow a place of worship, outdoor recreation and small-scale commercial uses.

Eleven people spoke at the public hearing, four in favor and seven opposed. A petition from residents of the Whispering Woods neighborhood was included in the meeting materials.

This is not the first church proposal along 126th Street to draw neighborhood pushback. In 2017, iTown Church first eyed property at 126th Street and Brooks School Road, near the Gray Eagle neighborhood, but after residents organized against it, church leaders shifted their plans to farmland at 136th Street and Brooks School Road. Neighbors at the time cited congestion at the already busy 126th and Brooks School intersection.

In other business Monday:

— The Council gave final approval to the 2027 budget, unchanged from the version presented in September. The $224 million spending plan is about 10% larger than the $203.6 million budget approved for 2026. Much of that growth is in Public Works, up 21%, where capital spending on wastewater infrastructure more than doubles following the city’s acquisition of HSE Utilities. Outside Public Works, the budget closely resembles this year’s. For city employees, the budget funds a 3% across-the-board raise and adds $1,000 to the city’s match for 457 retirement plans, the public-sector counterpart to a 401(k), bringing the annual match to $4,000 per employee.

— During Community Comment, a downtown resident said homeless individuals have been leaving messes in the area, and there is confusion over who is responsible for cleaning them up. She also questioned how the city is responding to a growing number of people without homes downtown. Mayor Scott Fadness said the transient population is increasing and the city will make sure messes are cleaned up. He said help will be offered to people experiencing homelessness, but those who refuse help will be held accountable for their actions.

— Firefighters Robert Mayfield and Greg Morlen were honored for 20 years of service with the Fishers Fire Department.

Community Health Network and Lifepoint Behavioral Health are proposing a 120-bed mental health hospital in Fishers along what is often called the “Med Tech Corridor,” between 136th Street and Interstate 69, west of Atlantic Road.

The facility is expected to create about 200 jobs. Patients would typically stay seven to 10 days.

Holly Millard of Community Health Network and attorney Addison Bradford told the Fishers City Council Monday night that the hospital would not operate like an emergency room. Patients would not walk in for care, they said, but would be placed there by referral.

Millard and Bradford said the hospital would keep a “low profile” and treat “less complex” mental health cases. They said the project is meant to fit the area, and that the operators intend to be a “great partner with the city.”

Mayor Scott Fadness called Community a longtime and “great partner” of the city. Fadness said the facility would add another layer of resources to meet Fishers’ mental health needs.

The proposal is part of a joint venture the two health systems formed in early 2025 to build two inpatient behavioral health hospitals in central Indiana. Under that partnership, Lifepoint, a Brentwood, Tennessee-based company that operates 24 behavioral health hospitals nationwide, would run day-to-day operations. The hospitals would be part of Community Fairbanks Behavioral Health’s continuum of care.

Community and Lifepoint already work together on three rehabilitation hospitals in the Indianapolis area, in northeast Indianapolis, Greenwood and Brownsburg.

The Fishers proposal follows a similar plan in Westfield. In January, the Westfield City Council rejected a 120-bed behavioral health hospital proposed across from Community’s new Westfield campus at 196th Street and East Street, despite a unanimous recommendation from that city’s Advisory Plan Commission. Bradford also represented Lifepoint in that case.

Community has said it plans to move most of the inpatient acute behavioral health beds now at Community Hospital North into its two new hospitals. Community North would keep a smaller unit of about 20 beds for patients with medically complex needs.

Monday’s meeting marked the first reading of the proposed rezoning. A neighborhood meeting is planned for November.

The site must also be annexed into Fishers. The first reading and public hearing on the annexation are set for the Nov. 16 City Council meeting. The Fishers Plan Commission will hold a public hearing on the rezoning Dec. 2, and the City Council is scheduled to take final votes on both the annexation and rezoning Dec. 14.

More than 25 volunteers gathered Sunday, Oct. 11, to clear flood debris from the Nonie Werbe Krauss Nature Preserve, a 77-acre property along the White River that organizers say helped shield parts of Fishers from flooding nearly eight weeks ago.

According to organizers, the preserve absorbed about 150 million gallons of floodwater, acting as a natural sponge that slowed the river. They credit the property with protecting 116th Street, the Eller Road corridor and Riverside School, and with limiting flooding at Heritage Park, Carmel’s Hazel Landing and White River Park.

Organizers attribute that protection to the late Van Eller, a farmer and conservationist who decades ago planted native trees on his White River farm and worked with the Central Indiana Land Trust (CILTI) to preserve the last of his family’s land.

While the native vegetation held back the water, the receding river left behind a large amount of trash carried downstream. Volunteers from across Central Indiana turned out Sunday to remove it.

Organizers credited Fishers Parks Director Marissa Deckert with coordinating the multi-agency effort, saying the cleanup would not have happened without her.

Heavy debris removal on site was led by Assistant Parks Director Jason King, CILTI volunteer steward John Bauer and CILTI land managers Philip Weldy and Max Gerke, with volunteers handling the rest.

Several agencies supported the work:

• Fishers Parks managed logistics, supplied large utility vehicles and haul wagons, and provided protective equipment to guard volunteers against mold.
• Hamilton County Tourism provided food, snacks and drinks.
• Hamilton County Emergency Management handled the initial removal of hazardous debris and the final pickup and disposal of everything volunteers collected.

Fishers City Councilor Bill Stuart joined CILTI and Fishers Parks in the initial damage assessment and brought the concerns to City Hall. Organizers also thanked Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Hamilton County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt for helping clear the way for the city-county partnership.

“Water is powerful, but the hearts of people can overcome,” said volunteer steward Becky McNichols. “It always warms my heart to see so many people come together and help.”

The preserve is open to the public. To protect wildlife, pollinators and birds, visitors are limited to foot traffic only — no bicycles — and dogs must be kept on a leash.

Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson is urging parents to take a more active role in their children’s online lives, pointing to the death of Hailey Buzbee, the 17-year-old Fishers girl whose kidnapping is now the subject of a federal prosecution.

Wilson made the remarks during a recent appearance on “The Big Picture,” a program on Columbus, Ohio television station WBNS, weeks after meeting with Buzbee’s parents. He said the family’s experience shows that no household should assume it is safe from online predators.

“Hailey’s parents are normal parents,” Wilson said.

He said that if it could happen to the Buzbee family, it could happen to any family, including his own. Wilson said neither his title nor his professional experience makes his children immune from someone trying to harm them.

Buzbee disappeared from her Fishers home earlier this year. Her remains were found weeks later in Perry County in February. Federal prosecutors allege she met the man charged in the case, a 39-year-old Columbus, Ohio, resident, online while playing video games, including Roblox and League of Legends.

On Sept. 23, a federal grand jury indicted the man on nine counts, including kidnapping resulting in death, sexual exploitation of a child resulting in death, traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and obstruction-related offenses. He pleaded not guilty to all counts at his arraignment in federal court. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Wilson encouraged parents to learn which apps their children use, read up on known safety problems with those platforms and talk openly with their kids about who they interact with online. He said those conversations should come from a place of love and concern for a child’s safety, not an effort to control them.

Wilson said Buzbee’s parents are now sharing their story to warn other families, even though reliving it is painful each time. He said they do so because they want no other parent to suffer the same loss.

The case has also drawn a response from Ohio lawmakers. Senate Bill 379, known as “Hailey’s Law,” was introduced in March by state Sens. Michele Reynolds and Kristina Roegner. The bill is among several proposals aimed at protecting children from online exploitation.

The federal case remains ongoing.

Information from Fort Wayne radio station WOWO contributed to this report.