It was early in the morning, August 10th, and Fishers High School gymnasium was packed with employees of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Corporation. School will start in two days and Superintendent Allen Bourff looked out at the crowd knowing he has his work cut out for him
The HSE School Board had been primed and ready to begin a campaign for a funding referendum in the upcoming November election, asking local taxpayers to increase property tax rates to better fund local schools. Dr. Bourff, at the last minute, recommended that the board postpone any referendum until May of 2016 at the earliest.
The reason for the recommendation? Bourff said he wanted to begin an effort to bring the community along. The President of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, Janet Chandler, had informed the superintendent that 40% of the group’s membership, responding to a survey last year, said they would not support a new referendum because the last one in 2009 did not deliver what was promised. In other words, a significant segment of HSE’s teaching staff would not support another referendum.
In his August 10th speech to the staff, Dr. Bourff provided some history and context to explain why the 2009 referendum did not deliver its promises. In that plebiscite, voters approved a 10 cent additional property tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation. That provided HSE Schools about $5 million in revenue at the time and generates roughly $7 million annually now.
The 2009 referendum had promised lower class sizes, better pay for teachers and other staff, as well as other improvements. None of that happened when Governor Mitch Daniels, in response to a dramatic drop in state revenue, also dramatically lowered state funding to local schools early in 2010.
Dr. Bourrf was the Superintendent at Richmond, Indiana’s local school system in 2010. He recounted painful staff layoffs and building closures resulting from the governor’s school funding action in early 2010. HSE Schools did not layoff any staff or close any buildings as a result of the 2009/2010 funding shock because the referendum that had just passed kept local funding level. However, the promises of the 2009 referendum of lower class sizes, staff pay increases and other enhancements were never realized due to the severe drop in state income during the aftermath of the financial crisis.
“For those of you who are concerned that Dr. (Brian) Smith (HSE’s school superintendent at the time) and company, who promoted that referendum, didn’t live up to their commitments, I’m telling you, it was outside of their control,” Bourrf told the HSE staff. “For that reason, you saw nothing come from that referendum.”
Bourff and other HSE Schools top officials plan to go on a “listening tour” to gather staff reactions to what he is saying. “I may not have seen some of the needs that you see every day,” according to the superintendent. “That’s why we’re going on the listening tour.”
Dr. Allen Bourff did his best to put all the funding issues into context for his staff. Now he is prepared to listen to what staff members have to say. Let’s see where that leads the HSE School Corporation.