Pike Township asks voters to help fund better teacher pay and other school programs

Four school districts across Indiana, including Pike Township in Marion County, have asked voters to approve operating referendums in the May primary election, saying the funds will help them sustain school programs and pay teachers competitively.

Polls closed at 6 p.m. in most parts of the state.

Live results: Watch 2024 Indiana primary election results roll in after polls close

Pike Township is pursuing an operating referendum for the first time ever, asking voters to approve a tax rate of 24 cents per every $100 of assessed property value. If approved, the referendum will last for eight years.

The bulk of the money would go to sustain programming made possible by the $36.9 million of Covid-19 relief dollars Pike received, most of which it has spent. School districts have until September to spend those funds or risk losing them.

District officials estimate the annual revenue from the referendum rate will be around $14.5 million.

Voters had strong opinions about the referendum Tuesday, with proponents of the measure wanting more support for public schools and opponents wanting to keep taxes lower.

“If they say they need more support, then I’m willing to help them,” said Kathy Koehler, 52.

AJ Bucher, 25, on the other hand, said he voted against the referendum because he doesn’t “trust that the school will use the money correctly.”

Rev. Dr. Richard Curry Jr., a senior pastor of True Tried Missionary Baptist Church, was conflicted. While he's worried about rising taxes, he ultimately opted to vote for more money for the sake of students.

“Especially when thinking about our African American children, I think they deserve better schools and our teachers deserve to be paid more,” Curry said.

Pike officials say they will use the referendum dollars to fund three main areas — funding staffing and programs made possible by pandemic relief dollars, teacher pay and school safety measures.

Pike went to voters with a referendum question last in 2010 when voters approved a $21.4 million capital referendum to fund construction projects.

If the new operating referendum passes, Pike would become the first school district in Marion County affected by a new law that requires school districts in Marion, St. Joseph, Vanderburgh and Lake Counties to share revenue from operating referendums with charter schools.

The law states that the dollars would follow any student living within Pike Township’s borders who attends a charter school, but Pike Superintendent Larry Young says it's hard to say at this point how much charters would receive. Charters could take as much as $400,000 of the referendum funds, he said.

Binghui Huang contributed to this story.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Teacher pay, operating funds among school referenda on Indiana ballots