The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools have lost 215 students this fall compared to the previous school year’s student population.  That was revealed at a Tuesday morning school board budget work session.

Chief Financial Officer Katy Dowling told board members the current HSE District student count is 21,180.  The official student count reported to the state will be taken Friday, September 17th.

School Board Member Michelle Fullhart noted that the neighboring school district in Carmel is also losing students this fall.

School officials say there are only 127 students on virtual learning this semester.

Dowling reviewed the various funds the school corporation uses and how she projects they will be handled in the new budget year, starting January 1.  In October, the school board  will hold a public hearing on the budget and finalize the spending plan later in October.

Dowling told LarryInFishers it is too early in the process to project the total budget for all funds for 2022, but the reduction in student enrollment could see about $1.5 million less in funding from the state, which pays local school districts based on student enrollment.

The current 2021 HSE budget, including all funds, stands at $259.2 million, a 3.37% increase over 2020 spending.  That budget included $4 million less in state funding due to a loss of approximately 400 students compared to the previous year.  Attrition and COVID funding from the federal government resulted in no employee layoffs this year.

Dowling, emphasizing this is a projection until all the numbers are in, believes the school district’s share of the tax rate will remain steady, perhaps even go down slightly.  The current HSE tax rate is $1.24 per $100 of assessed valuation.

Dowling said support from the City of Fishers is very generous in partnering with the school corporation.

“I’ve never seen the level of cooperation between a school district and a governmental entity that we have here,” Dowling told the board.  “We are very fortunate.”