If the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board chooses to renew or place another tax amount on a funding referendum, it would be in November.  The current operating referendum expires at the end of 2023.  That referendum generates just under $26 million in annual revenue for HSE Schools.

The board had a number of questions for HSE Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Katy Dowling in a Tuesday morning work session.  Most centered on where the money generated by the referendum is spent, such as how much goes to pay administrators.

Dowling did a deep dive into the history of school referenda in Indiana and the HSE 2016 operating referendum.  In 2016, the school district said the referendum money would go toward reducing classroom sizes, deal with the pay scale for the teaching staff and improve academic programs.  That referendum was also utilized to add assistant principals in elementary buildings.

Dowling encouraged board members to ask her questions and she would provide any data requested by the board.

There is not enough time to place the referendum question on the May primary ballot.  The previous board did not act on the referendum, presumably so the new board can make that decision.

Board members made no commitments but indicated a decision would be needed in the coming weeks and months.

In 2016, HSE School District voters approved a referendum adding 22.75 cents to the tax rate, per $100 of assessed property tax valuation.  Although voters vote up or down on a referendum, the board decides what amount to request of taxpayers in a referendum.

I do recall the Town of Fishers, early in my time writing this blog, where Conner Prairie regularly came to the town and asked for financial help.  The amount each year was around $100,000 and the town regularly approved the request with little opposition.

When Fishers became a city, there was discussion about financially supporting local nonprofit groups beyond Conner Prairie.  That led to the creation of the City Council Nonprofit Committee.  The council would determine how much money was available in the city budget, look at the requests from local nonprofit groups, then decide which organizations would receive city funding and how much each would receive.

There is now a proposal on the table to dissolve the City Council Nonprofit Committee and mold nonprofit organization funding recommendations into the mayor’s annual budget request to the City Council.  Council members would still have final say over funding for the nonprofits as part of the budget process.

Some councilors say the Nonprofit Committee system has become too political.  Others want the current system to remain in place.

Councilors only need one vote to pass first reading, which happened at Tuesday night’s meeting.  The dissolution proposal for the Council’s standing Nonprofit Committee will likely be debated again before a final vote is taken.

Imagine it is March of this year, it is a beautiful sunny 60 degree day, Geist Waterfront Park has just opened and you want to take your family for a park visit.  Fishers is setting up a system where city residents can register online with one set of credentials and one password, allowing you to drive to the park and gain the free access for those living in the city.

Fishers Information Technology Director Tracy Gaynor told the Board of Public Works and Safety that you could have your phone or other digital device anywhere in your vehicle, even in the back seat, and gain access to the park.  This is part of a technical upgrade the city is purchasing from Okta, a private firm.  Fishers is acquiring this technology through a  State of Indiana Quantity Purchase Award, providing a discount of roughly $23,000 to the city.  The cost of the system to the city is about $100,000.

Gaynor compares this system to a hotel keying system, with a toll road meeting Disney’s Magic Pass.  Citizens may register voluntarily and will not be charged to sign up.

Local citizens will eventually, using this system, be able to access other permitted city facilities, register and enroll in a variety of programs, rent facilities and equipment, and eventually access the city’s online permitting and inspections system, report events and observations that request city service, and even pay utility bills, Gaynor told the board.

The Board of Works approved the purchase, so work continues to build this new system.

It is a regular issue anytime traffic builds at 116th Street and Allisonville Road – the left turn lanes stack up and vehicles are backed up.  Fishers city engineers have been studying this issue, with an early recommendation to expand the turn lanes, but that was set aside long ago.

Fishers is now planning a roundabout at that intersection as the solution to the long-standing traffic tie-ups.  The bidding and start of construction are planned for 2024.

The Fishers Board of Works and Safety voted January 10th to approve a supplemental agreement to provide $413,825.43 in additional money for the roundabout project.  City Engineer Jason Taylor told board members this will fund additional work required for the project due to “changes in the surrounding area as well as the land that is owned by the city, and working around some of the details of development that may occur.”

The City of Fishers was right on time, converting the intersection of 141st Street at State Road 37 a right-in right-out this week as previously announced, meaning the traffic signal is gone and motorists will need to find another east-west route in that area.

In commenting on this change in the weekly road construction report, Fishers City officials repeated its assertion that this set-up is “not the permanent configuration.”  The city has said it will have another bidding process in August of this year.  The bids submitted in 2022 were “not serious,” per City Controller Lisa Bradford, in a comment at a recent City Council Finance Committee meeting.

Below is the latest statement on this from the city, issued Friday:

Local food pantries are running low on food supplies, so the City of Fishers is hosting a food drive to coincide with the MLK Day celebration.

• Brooks School Park: 11780 Brooks School Road
• Cyntheanne Park: 12383 Cyntheanne Road
• Flat Fork Creek Park: 16141 E. 101^st Street
• Harrison Thompson Park: 13573 Conner Knoll Parkway
• Nickel Plate District Amphitheater: 6 Municipal Drive
• Holland Park: 1 Park Drive
• Saxony Hall: 13362 Pennington Road
• Heritage Park: 10595 Eller Road
• Kroger: 9799 E. 116^th Street
• Kroger: 11700 Olio Road
• Kroger: 7272 Fishers Crossing Drive

I spoke with two city employees, Amy Crell and Stephanie Perry, on a podcast about the food drive,  You can listen at the link below.

Four new school board members took the oath of office Wednesday night at the first board session with the newly-elected members – Dawn Lang, Juanita Albright, Tiffany Pascoe and Ben Orr.  Dawn Lang was elected board president, but the vote was not unanimous.  Two holdover board members, Sarah Donsbach and Sarah Parks-Reese, voted no on the slate of officers.  Juanita Albright will serve as vice president and Tiffany Pascoe as board secretary.

In other items before the board:

–A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the J. Everett Light Center at North Central High School in Marion County was unanimously approved, after assurances students caught in the transition from J. Everett Light and the new Pursuit Institute would be treated fairly.

–The board voted unanimously to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for legal services.  Board member Ben Orr said this is just a business practice the new board is doing.  Church, Church, Hittle and Antrim (CCHA) has provided legal services for HSE Schools as far back as 30 years, according to Orr, and added this action is no reflection on the work CCHA has provided HSE Schools in the past.  CCHA is being invited to submit a proposal.

2022 was a year that saw more than $1 billion of economic development projects announced in the City of Fishers.  I sat down with city’s Economic Development Director, Megan Baumgartner, to talk about how these projects came together last year, and how the city plans to continue developing in 2023.  The podcast is linked below.

The Fishers Police Department, according to Chief Ed Gebhart, has been fortunate to have a number of applicants when openings arise for sworn officers.  Now, the department is looking for candidates already certified by the Academy and will accept lateral officers already work as uniformed police.

Below is a news release from Fishers Police about the latest round of applicants sought by the department:

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The Fishers Police Department is actively seeking certified/lateral candidates to participate in a competitive hiring process. Candidates must be certified by the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (Basic Course/Tier I) or a police academy recognized by ILEA. Applications are being accepted through March 10, 2023. Applicants are encouraged to visit our website, http://www.fishers.in.us/253/Recruitment , and complete an on-line application.

The Fishers Police Department is Internationally Accredited by the Commission for the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). We offer outstanding career opportunities that include growth, opportunity, advancement, diversification, benefits, and competitive salaries. Police officers receive the highest levels of training and equipment and are given every opportunity to succeed.

Testing is expected to begin in the spring. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. If candidates have additional questions, they can contact Officer Edgar Holmes at holmese@fishers.in.us or 317-588-1430.

The City of Fishers and the local school district, Hamilton Southeastern (HSE), have both been active in mental health, and now the federal government is chipping-in with a large grant of over $5.7 million.  The money comes from the bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

According to a news release from HSE Schools, The School Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) grant will provide funding to recruit, prepare, hire and train highly qualified school-based mental health professionals, which includes school counselors, school psychologists and school social workers over the next 5 years.

“Currently, the ratio of school-based mental health professionals-to-students in Hamilton
Southeastern is high, resulting in barriers for K-12 students to access needed supports and
interventions,” according to Mental Health and School Counseling Coordinator Brooke Lawson.  Lawson, who will help administer the grant, says HSE will focus on adding supports at the secondary level by hiring additional school counselors; primary students will be better served by an increased number of school social workers; and districtwide, extra school psychologists will be added.

“We know students can’t perform to the best of their ability when they are experiencing mental health challenges,” said Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Stokes. “Through this grant, HSE has the opportunity to expand its capacity of diverse service providers to address the unique, individual needs of each student and family we serve.”

HSE will begin seeking qualified candidates for these additional positions in the coming weeks.

The American School Counselor Association recommends 1:250 ratio of school counselors-tostudents. The most recent statewide data shows that Indiana ranks last for the number of school counseling professionals serving young Hoosiers