Join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. Doctor Hammock is gonna start off our meeting tonight with, our students of the month. But before we get started, could I ask all of you to please silence your phone so that we can be respectful for for the people who are up to
your speaking as well as for the students who are getting their awards. Good evening, everyone. My name is Laura Hammock, and I proudly serve as the superintendent of Beach Grove City Schools. We're actually starting things off this evening, with a very special award that we only give in May. It's kind of like our race. And it is a surprise award, so I mean that no disrespect, but I would like mister Chad Mann to please come forward. So if you know mister Mann, you know that this is the last thing in the world that he wants to be doing, but we have a little support that
we would like to give you, and we have a few remarks that I'm going to make you suffer through, and then you can leave. And many thanks to the amazing Michelle Mann, who got you here under false pretense. But the board members are all very thrilled with you and her scheme because they all have a lovely flower now as a result. So, mister Mann, it is truly an honor to recognize you as you stand here tonight, to recognize you as you retire from Beech Grove City Schools, and to present you with a very special award from the board.
This is the Fair Factor Award. It's an award that represents the very best of who we are as a school community. The Bear Factor Award was established to celebrate the legacy of doctor Steve Baer, whose service to Beech Grove as a teacher, assistant principal, and assistant superintendent, helps shape a culture of positivity that continues to define us today. The award reads, celebrating Beech Grove City School team members who advance a culture of positivity within and across the school community of of Beech Grove.
There could not be a more fitting description of Chad Mann. Since 1996, Chad has served the district with an extraordinary dedication, as a math teacher, assistant principal, district mentor, and leader in countless ways. But titles alone cannot capture the depth of his impact. As a teacher, Chad's success was extraordinary. His students didn't just achieve at high levels, they developed a true students see themselves
as capable, confident leaders and learners, and that is a gift that lasts far beyond any assessment. As an assistant principal, Chad redefined what it means to lead with both strength and compassion. In moments where students often bring frustration, fear, or anger, Chad met them with something different. He met them with love. He holds high expectations always, but he paired those expectations with deep care, dignity, and respect. Students felt that. Families felt that.
And because of that, relationships were strengthened even in the most difficult moments. Beyond the classroom and the office, Chad has been a pillar of leadership association leadership, and mentoring the next generation of school leaders. His fingerprints are on so much of what makes speech Grove strong today. But perhaps what makes Chad most special is who he is as a person.
To witness the deep love and respect he holds for the children and families of Beech Grove is something you don't forget. His presence brings a steady calm, a quiet strength, and if you're lucky, you just did it, a glimpse of that wry sense of humor and unmistakable twinkle in his eye. And when Chad really laughs, it has a way of lifting an entire room. There are people whose impact is so profound that it's hard to imagine the place without them, and Chad is one of those people. As we celebrate his retirement, we do so with both immense gratitude and a very
real sense of loss. He has been more than a colleague. He's been a mentor, a leader, and a dear friend of which I am grateful to call to so many of us. Chad, we are so incredibly happy for you and this next chapter, but please know you will be deeply missed. And to Michelle, who is with us tonight, you are truly one in a million. Thank you for sharing, Chad, with us for these many years. We love you both. Chad, once a hornet, always a hornet. You have served faithfully, you've led with heart, and you've given so much of yourself
to this community. May all of that goodness come back to you tenfold in the years ahead. It is our great honor to present you with the Bear Factor Award. Congratulations and thank you for everything. Started my career student teaching, met missus Prindle back parking lot one afternoon. Had mister Downard, I think, my first or second year, had so many of your your kids. I just can't tell you how much I appreciate the love and support, that you guys have poured into Michelle and I.
We just could never have thought thirty years ago that we would have met over at South Grove whenever we're in our master's class and then ended up getting married. And Next thing you know, thirty years later, it's still as great as it was when we first got here. So thank you all so much. Thank you for the continued love and support. Thank you. You have a long ride home. Thank you so much. So great. Alright. Thank you for that. Now onto regularly scheduled programming, we are thrilled to be able to celebrate our students
of the month this evening. So every month when we're in school, we do celebrate one student from every school building. And I like to pause when we do this, because I want the families to understand how big of a deal this is. We have about 2,700, 2,800 students in all of Beach Grove. Tonight, we celebrate five. You have been selected out of all of those thousands of students to be here tonight because of a number of different reasons, and we couldn't be more proud. Parents, congratulations to you. Family members, congratulations to you.
This does not happen by accident. Right? How this goes is that we will invite our principals up. They will say several words, and we will invite our students of the month to come up with that principal. They'll say a few words about your student. They'll give you an award. We'll take a picture, and we'll move on to the next student. And then we'll have a little break after the fact, and you all can go on your way on this morning or you're certainly welcome to stay. I believe we're gonna start with Central tonight. I know mister Carr's boy is playing over at South Grove right now, so we're gonna bring mister Carr up, Central element Central Intermediate School, and Central is, celebrating Jalen
Wilburn. So, Jalen, would you please come up and Mr. Clark? I love it. So this is a big surprise. Congratulations. Welcome, Jaylen. Everyone, this is Jaylen Wilburn. Mister Morgan, mister Jones are gonna be very lucky to have Jaylen next school year since sixth grader at Central Intermediate. We have a couple of her teachers here. Celebrate Jalen. I when I had last talked with mom, I believe we weren't telling her. So Oh, we told I told her before we came. Okay. Okay. Jalen is a fantastic student central and she is definitely one of those kids that
we we always preach. Like, what value do you add to your school? And she's a kid who adds a ton of value to her school every single day. So we're very blessed to have Jaylyn as a student at Central Intermediate. Just a couple things that her teachers, kind of wrote about her. Miss Strickland said she was lucky enough to have to be Jaylyn's math teacher in the fifth grade. Jaylyn's truly one of a kind. She's the type of student that always leads by example. She is kind, helpful, and caring. She's she never gives up when something is hard, and is always willing to embrace challenges. She uses those challenges in order to help herself set goals so that she can
grow. I am proud of her growth. I still love seeing her in the hallway. Her hugs and smiles brighten my day, and I'm positive that she will continue to make a positive impact in the future. Miss Soller says, Jaylen is an example of what it means to lead with character and initiative. Whether she is listening intently to a lesson or going above and beyond on an assignment, her dedication to her education is undeniable. What truly sets her apart is her quiet leadership. She is often found tidying up the classroom or or helping others without being asked, and without seeking any rewards. She simply does it because it's the right thing to do.
She has a strong work ethic. She's self motivated, reliable, and consistently focused. I can tell that she values her education and doing thing and doing things well. I'm so glad I got to be her both her reading and homeroom teacher this this school year. That's for miss Soler. Good job, Jay. Alright. Okay. We're gonna go back to Hornet Park now. Mister Adamson is our principal, and we are thrilled to celebrate Adric Cruz nipple tonight. Stay right there for a second. I'm gonna read it. I'm gonna read it. I'm gonna read it. I'm gonna read it through things.
But should we stay right there? Right. So one of the great things about being principal at Hornet Park is that you get to see intelligence in a lot of different ways. Because when they're this little and Adriq has been with us for four years now. So he predates me. He's even out of preschool. You get to see how they get to grow and show that intelligence in different ways. So this young man is very brilliant. But that babbling that you've been hearing and that talking is a pretty new skill for Adriq, and something that we're very proud of at Hornet Park. And he has grown in so many ways because when you give this guy a
test, he knocks it out of the water. But now to see him show that in other ways is what has Adric winning this award tonight. So I'm gonna read what, his preschool teacher says. Miss Stanley said that, oh my goodness. I have so much to share about sweet Adric. I was lucky enough to be his preschool teacher for two years. And during that time, I got to see Adric grow and change. His lang language blossomed when he was in preschool, and I know it has grown even more from since then when I see him around the hallways at Hornet Park.
I always love to stop and get a big hug from him. He always gives me a big smile and a, hello, miss Stanley. I am so proud of Adric for all the growth he has made while he has been at Hornet Park. And then miss Dimock says, Adric is a brilliant boy. He has a wide variety of interests and works hard in class every day. Adric loves being with his first grade peers and is improving at inviting his peers into his play. We love Adric and love having him at Hornet Park. And then finally, his first grade teacher, missus Lewis says, Adric is an awesome kid
and she is so glad that they got to spend first grade together. She is very proud of the progress he has made this year academically and socially. Adric has become an important leader of their first grade family. He is so kind to everyone and wants to be everyone's friend. Adric has tried new things this year that have taken perseverance and bravery. We know he's gonna be successful in second grade. Way to go, big guy. Hey. We've got adorable factor going on tonight. Beautiful. Darling. Okay. Next up, we are super excited to shift things over to South Grove.
And we are going to celebrate Eleanor Crewey. Eleanor, come on up. Such a pretty dress. You look so pretty. There you go. This is miss Eleanor and Eleanor is a fourth grader at South Grove Elementary School. And so I have had the pleasure of knowing Eleanor now for three years. And her mom also works for us too, which is awesome. Mrs. Kaufman nominated Eleanor for student of the month, and she shared, Eleanor's love for learning
is contagious. She is excited about every new project that we do and gets other kiddos excited too. She has so much energy and joy and always wants to help others. She's a leader who pushes others to achieve their personal best. I love her silliness and laughter, which makes our class a fun place to be. Her sweet and spunky spirit makes her a pure joy to be around. Eleanor deserves to be student of the month because she proves that you can work hard while having fun too. Mrs. Wainscott, her other fourth grade teacher, shared, Eleanor is a dream to have in class.
She is bright, inquisitive and a caring student. She shows up every day ready to learn and can find the fun in any lesson. She works hard and pushes herself. She also does a wonderful job thinking critically on her own so she can push past her goals. Eleanor is not only a wonderful student, but an amazing friend and classmate. She is always the first to help a friend in need or be there to offer support. Eleanor is an excellent choice for student of the month and embodies all the qualities of of a Hornet. Mister Von Dooligan had to share, although he does not work with Eleanor regularly, I
will let the record state. Right? He said, Eleanor is a bright, caring, and hardworking student. She is the definition of the Hornet way. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her at Central. Missus Noll, our Essential Skills teacher shared, Eleanor is an incredibly sweet student to have here at South Grove. She's a wonderful friend and goes out of her way to make sure each and every student is included. She makes sure that no one is left behind or sitting by themselves on the playground. She brings so much kindness and positivity to our hallways.
She has one of the sweetest friendships with one of my students, and I am so amazed how their friendship continues to grow throughout the school year. Eleanor, we are so absolutely proud of you. I'm gonna miss you next year, but I have a feeling you might visit and stop by. Yeah? Good. Congratulations. I understand that our middle school student, Paxton Davis, is on a ball field somewhere. Hopefully beat the Tigers. Beat the Tigers tonight. Very good. Glad to hear it. So we will not have a presentation from mister Morgan Beach Grove Middle school principal, but congratulations to Paxton. And last but not least, mister Austin is going to be celebrating Jaren Wade.
Come on up. This is Jaren Wade. He has consistently demonstrated outstanding character, effort and creativity through his time at Beech Grove High School. His teachers describe him as a positive remodel who always strives to do his very best in the classroom. So I have some comments from your teachers directly. Okay. So from the first of all, missus Johnson is a science teacher. Jared is a positive role model for his peers. He always strives to do his best and is a true pleasure to have in class. I appreciate the time and effort that he puts into his work and very proud
of the progress he has made over the past two years that he has been her student. Mister Cartwright, language arts teacher, Jaren is a daring, engaging writer in my creative writing class. I always look forward to reading what he comes up with next. His creativity and willingness to take risks in his writing have made him a standout among his peers. Mr Wynn, band teacher, Jaren Wade is a is an amazing young man who consistently leads by example through hard work, humility and determination.
While not always the loudest voice in the band room, he has earned the respect of his peers and of our staff through his positivity, reliability and willingness to do anything to succeed. By setting this example, Jaren has made a meaningful impact on our music program in school community. And Mr Bush's math teacher shares that Jaren is a great student to have in class, describing him as quiet, respectful, hardworking. He noted that Jaren's classmates enjoyed being around him because he's always willing to help
others and share his knowledge. Mister Bush praises Jaren's strength in math and and the pride that he takes in his work, adding that he has truly enjoyed having Jaren in class and hopes to work with him again in the future. Jaren's commitment to growth, positive attitude, and strong work ethic, and the willingness to support others make him a highly deserving, person to reckon for this recognition recognition. Please join me in congratulating Jaren Wade as the Beech Grove High School May student
of the month. Well, congratulations. I'm sure you all can see why this is our favorite part of our meetings. There's nothing like these sorts of celebrations. We could not be more proud of all of you. Again, families, congratulations. Thank you to the teachers who come for support. You guys get all the points. Really appreciate you all. Really lovely to have you out this evening. Congratulations to each one of you. This sort of concludes the celebration part of our meeting. We're gonna take about a five minute break, so you all are welcome to go off into your evenings, but congratulations. You make us so deeply proud. We just can't tell you.
Congratulations. Have a wonderful evening. Yay, Presentation by doctor Hammock concerning our referendum.
Yes. And, Madam President, we wondered if we could interrupt, our actions just a little bit this evening. The principals have seen this presentation, so I was going to dismiss them for the night. Sure. But mister Austin has someone really important to introduce to you all, and we wondered if we could make the introduction, and then ask for you to approve the personnel report so that we can have a new assistant principal. Oh, yay. Yes. So mister Austin, would you bring up mister Clark? Absolutely. Come on up. Absolutely. Well, I haven't prepared any words, but, I just want to speak from the heart
and just say that, we're blessed to have, mister Clark here to recommend to you to be hired on as the assistant principal here at at the high school. Really happy that Rob mister Chalice got got the job that he got because he has the opportunity of being able to bring this guy in. He applied for the position that that, mister Chalis is is is filling. And so this this works out. This is really well. So so we're really excited about mister Clark joining us. He has many, many years of years experience. He's bringing in skill sets that are gonna be such a positive attribute to the
high school and give us just skills that we that we need to be able to push us just that much further, forward as as a as an organization. So so it's our request that you recommend him for for Mr. Garvin, would you like to ask the board for approval of Mr. Clark and the personnel report? Sure. Just requesting a board approval of the submitted personnel report for 04/10/2006 through 05/07/2026. Okay. Could I get a motion to approve? Well, I stole his job, so I'll motion to approve.
Who would like to second that? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Welcome to Beach Grove. Yeah. Alright. I'm very excited to be here. Adult. Alright. So sorry about that. Just wanted to, on the fly there, search up the agenda so that we could be respectful of their schedules this evening. Board members, I have actually prepared my remarks this evening because I didn't want to go off in a million different directions, but I will call your attention to your packet that's at your table. It is going to, present for you slide by slide, the slides that will be
illustrated, up here on screen. I'm really grateful to mister Ressler because he has, made it so from a tech point of view that our community members can watch this presentation, see the slides in full screen, so that they are very much able to to witness, the words that are then matching the slides. So if you have community members that are talking to you that wanna learn a little bit more about the referendum, this might be something that you would want to, point, them towards, because I think it will be, interesting and helpful.
And certainly, if there is anyone that ever and community members, if you're watching, that wants to sit down with me to go through either this presentation or parts of this presentation, I will gladly meet you at your kitchen table, to go through, the elements of this. Because there is no doubt, it is complicated, and we very much so want to make it not complicated and that's our goal for this evening. So this evening, I am going to spend time walking through the financial realities facing
Beach Grove City Schools. The impact of recent state legislation and why this referendum effort is so important for the future stability of our district. The presentation is rooted in three three commitments, transparency, accountability, and honesty about the challenges ahead. Most importantly, this conversation is about protecting the services our students and families depend on every single day. Over the last several months and weeks, many of us have watched headlines across Indiana
about school districts needing to reduce millions of dollars from their budgets. Communities are hearing words like deficit, reduction, staffing cuts, financial instability, with increasing frequency. In Beech Grove City Schools, we have not waited for a crisis to begin making those difficult decisions. For the last five years, this district has been engaged in careful, disciplined, and deliberate work to get our financial house in order. We will talk about that work more extensively later on in the presentation.
But tonight, it's important to know is not about explaining away financial mismanagement. It is not about defending reckless spending. It is not about asking our community to rescue a district explaining the structural financial realities facing Beech Grove City Schools. Realities that no amount of internal reductions alone can fully overcome. And tonight is about discussing the need to engage our community around replacing our current
operating referendum, so that we can continue, this is an important word, existing services for students and families. You'll probably hear me say this 10 times tonight because it matters that much. This is not an additional referendum. This referendum we will talk about tonight replaces the current operating referendum approved by voters in 2020. This referendum is the continuation of existing support for existing operational services, reliable transportation, safe
and well maintained schools, custodial and operational services, and student safety systems, including our school resource officers. Strong schools do not happen accidentally. They happen when communities choose to invest in them. And tonight, we begin an honest conversation about what that means for Beech Grove. One of the most important things for our community to understand is that school funding in Indiana comes from three completely separate funding streams, local, state, and federal, and each
serves a different purpose. State funding, which is not at all connected to local property taxes, supports inside the schoolhouse expenditures, classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, office staff, teaching assistants, curricular materials, and supplies. This is all the education fund. Federal funding supports targeted student services like special education, title programs, and school breakfast and lunch programs. Local property taxes supports school district operations and debt service, all including transportation, facilities maintenance,
safety, utilities, and custodial services. This evening, we will be spending the majority of our time talking about the funds that are supported by local property taxes in the operations fund and in the operating referendum fund. The key takeaway is this. No single funding source pays for everything. Each fund has legal restrictions and specific purposes. That distinction matters tremendously, as we discuss a referendum. This slide focuses specifically on the operations fund.
The operations fund is the fund supported by local property tax revenue. The operations fund does not pay for classroom instruction. Statutorily, it can't. Instead, it supports the essential non classroom operations that keep schools functioning safely and effectively every day, which includes everything related to transportation, everything related to maintenance and grounds, custodial services, utilities, student safety, school resource officers, and general district operations.
Effectively, anything that doesn't happen inside a school is required to be paid for out of the operations fund. As you can see, these are not optional services. They are foundational systems that allow teaching and learning to happen safely and reliably. Operational expenses are critical for school district operations, and the operations fund is funded through local property taxes.
Well, Beech Grove City Schools uniquely faces two significant financial stressors. First, we are the most significantly impacted district in Indiana by property tax caps. Because of the structure of our communities assessed valuation and the way Indiana's tax cap system operates, our operations fund receives almost no meaningful revenue from local property taxes. This is not because of overspending or financial mismanagement.
It is just because the funding formula structurally disadvantages communities like Beech Grove. So when you receive little to no revenue in the operations fund, there is one other option, and that is to ask your community to offset that revenue deficit by approving and operating referendum. In Beech Grove, because of the property tax cap impact, without referendum support, we simply
cannot stake, sustain critical operational services. So why, why is Beech Grove hit so hard by these caps? It's a question that I get a lot, and it's completely reasonable question to ask. This slide explains why our district is uniquely vulnerable. First, Beech Grove is predominantly residential. Homestead properties are capped at 1%, which significantly limits tax collections. Second, our tax rates are pushed over the constitutional caps, meaning any taxes above those
limits are never collected. Third, the operations fund absorbs those losses first, essentially wiping out much of that revenue stream. And finally, lower assessed valuation compared to surrounding districts means there is less local revenue generating capacity overall. And this is why stable referendum support is not a luxury for Beech Grove. It's essential. Laura? And, I'm sure that the TIF districts also affect Yes.
Could you kind of explain that a little bit as well? Yes ma'am. It's as if you read my presentation here. That's the next slide here. I will, I will gladly do that. So here, this slide is providing a simple overview of Indiana's property tax cap system. So homestead properties, like we mentioned in the previous slide, are capped at 1%. Rental and farmland, not much farmland in Beech Grove, are capped at 2%, and business property is capped at 3%. If tax collections exceed those limits, schools do not receive the difference.
That lost revenue is called circuit breaker loss, and for Beech Grove City Schools, those losses are extraordinarily significant. The important important point here is that tax caps reduce school revenue before schools ever receive a dollar. And here, and I'm gonna get to your point Janice, in just a second, why would Beech Grove then need referendum support? Well, nearly every home in Beech Grove is already at that 1% cap.
As a result, there is very little meaningful operations fund revenue that is generated locally, which creates enormous press pressure on our ability to maintain transportation, facilities, safety systems, and operational support services. The referendum exists to protect those services and provide stability for students and families. We aren't asking to expand anything through this referendum. We aren't building anything. This referendum support is solely to continue existing operational functions.
Janice's question about the one, two, 3% is important. In communities that are not hit as hard by the caps, that is because those communities have what's called a diversity of the one, two, 3%. We have, like, a a a huge percentage of our, tax base is residential. We have rentals, but we have a very little 3% that would, sort of contribute to that diversity of one, two, three. And you might ask yourself, but we have commercial property, you know, why when you
can kind of think of some different spaces here in Beach Grove, but any commercial property that is TIF'd, so is in, in a tax increment financing zone, those dollars are not generated with that 3%. So, therefore, they're not counted as being in the 3% because they're not tax paying entities. So effectively then, we are just predominantly 1% here in Beech Grove, well over 90%. Have we ever figured out if we know Lowe's is a TIF and Walmart is
a TIF. If they weren't TIF'd, how much money we would actually get from them? So that city council or whoever would understand how they're affecting us by doing those things? Actually, yes. So annually, we are invited to the RDC meeting, and at the RDC meeting, there is actually a report that's given. Interestingly, it's coming up. It's it's in a month or so. We received notification from the RDC, and so, I always attend that meeting on behalf of, the board and and the school district. Board members are certainly welcome. But at that meeting, they report out, sort of, the revenue, that is generated, from
those tax increment financing districts and, a report is actually given to the entities that that would have been receiving, funds. It's it's it's very well done. Yeah. That's right. It's over $300,000. Oh, okay. Remember the exact number, but it's been around 300,000 once in the last few years. It's a lot of money. Thank you. Thanks. No. Great memory. So, just moving on to this next slide here, and please, Janice, thank you for your question. I should have mentioned that at the beginning. Sure. Board members, please.
As questions pop up, do not hesitate to interrupt me. Truly. Most important that you understand this stuff. So here are the bottom line. If I could summarize this entire presentation into one slide, it would probably be this one. Beech Grove City Schools experiences the highest tax cap loss in Indiana. We receive little to no operations fund revenue, yet we must still provide transportation, safe buildings, utilities, custodial services, and student safety operations every day. So the reality is simple, referendum support is essential.
So this is, distinguishing between the two types of referendum funds. There is an operating referendum and there is a capital referendum here in Beech Grove. Beech Grove has a long history of community support through successful referendum campaigns in 'nine, 2015 and 2020. Those campaigns allowed us to continue operating despite the structural funding challenges that we face. These campaigns were deployed in direct response to the property tax cap impacts.
In addition for today, to these impacts, new legislation through senate enrolled act one, dramatically changes Beach Grove City Schools not only needs to offset property tax cap impacts, but we now have a novel issue, which is presented with the assessed valuation stressors of
SEA one. SEA one not only significantly reduces assessed valuation, but referenda can now only occur during even year general elections, which makes long term planning even more critical. And that's exactly why we are seeking this referendum in November 2026. This slide explains one of the most important financial formulas in school funding and it's quite simple.
You take your assessed valuation divided by a 100 and you multiply it by the tax rate and that determines the levy, which is essentially the amount of funding that schools actually collect. So 80 times rate equals the amount of funding that a school generates. What SCA one does simply is reduces assessed valuation growth. Indiana's SCA one reduces assessed valuation growth by increasing property tax tax deductions and credits
for homeowners, which lowers the taxable assessed value of property over time. Because school funding formulas rely heavily on assessed valuation to generate local revenue, slower AV growth results in lower levy growth and significantly reduces the amount of local funding that school districts can collect moving forward. That means even if tax rates are stable, districts generate significantly less revenue. Lower assessed valuation directly translates into lower levy collection.
So one of many actions that this district has taken in the last five years is our disciplined stewardship of taxpayer resources. Over the past five years, the Beach Grove City Schools tax rate has decreased approximately 22 and a half percent, falling finally below $2. At the same time, we have continuing continued operating our schools, maintaining facilities, supporting transportation, and improving opportunities for students, and this did not happen by accident. Our district needed to deploy significant cost cutting strategies and revenue generating innovations to make
this happen. We'll talk about those reductions here in a few slides. This slide demonstrates our commitment to So this is a very important slide. I think I've said that for every slide, but this is a very important slide, because it shows exactly where current operating referendum dollars go. Every dollar supports essential operational functions. Transportation, all of it.
From bus drivers to school buses to maintenance to fuel. All of it. Transportation, resource officers. These, as you can see, are recurring operational needs that directly affect every school, every student, every day. These four areas are exactly what the November 2026 referendum will be dedicated towards.
It's a very important point here. This is not a brand new referendum. This referendum replaces the existing operating referendum approved by voters in 2020. The purpose is to continue existing services, reliable transportation, safe and well maintained facilities, student safety systems, including our SROs. This is about con Annuity. Stability. This is not a new referendum. This is a continuation of the services currently funded in the twenty twenty referendum.
We want our community to know that this information, all of it, is publicly available. We built a financial transparency portal, placed it on our website to provide clear accessible information about our district finances, referendum impacts, and operational realities. We believe that transparency builds trust, and we intend to continue providing regular updates to our community. Soon, on our site, we will have information specific to the referendum that will also
host a number of community engagements. We will also host a number of community engagement sessions to ensure that our community fully understands what is happening with this referendum. I believe that this slide illustrates something very important. Again, coming back to fiscal responsibility. The blue line is evidencing that assessed valuation here in Beech Grove has steadily increased over time, and while that has happened, we have intentionally decreased our tax rate. This slide demonstrates in a visual way that Beach Grove City Schools has exercised disciplined
financial stewardship, while still attempting to preserve services for students. And for the last five years, we have made incredibly difficult decisions to stabilize the district financially. We streamlined the district administration staff, eliminating six district administration positions, including two assistant superintendents, reduced other positions through attrition, analyzed contracts, improved operational efficiency, expanded alternative revenue sources, and
prioritized essential services. Millions of dollars have been saved or redirected strategically. This referendum effort is not occurring because we failed to manage resources responsibly. In fact, if we hadn't done the hard work over these last five years, we would need to ask our community for a significantly higher rate in an operating referendum. And we are so pleased that this is not the case. Like every organization and household, we are also facing substantial inflationary pressures.
Insurance costs, transportation costs, utilities, health insurance, and equipment have increased dramatically over the last five years. These are unavoidable operational expenses that continue to rise regardless of enrollment or local funding challenges. These are all expenses that come from the operations fund. This is a very engaging slide. In that, it projects the impact of SEA one moving forward. Studies show that strong schools in strong communities translate into assessed valuations that grow year
to year. And as you can see, Beech Grove has witnessed ten consecutive years of assessed valuation growth. Because of SEA one, you can see in the light blue lines, projected declines in assessed valuation growth beginning in 2027 and beyond. Over time, this creates long term revenue suppression for our local schools. That means districts like Beech Grove will face increasing financial instability without operational support mechanisms
like an operating referendum. An important note, to identify is that here in Beech Grove, we have carried the burden of the tax cap pressure for a long, long time. SEA one is brand new. School districts across the state of Indiana are facing that SEA one pressure. So you'll hear that other school districts are dealing with these realities most fundamentally connected to that SEA one bill. The next two slides just often make me a little angry.
I've gone off script here. Because it they fundamentally show the vast inequity that our school funding, structure, is how it's based. To illustrate how assessed valuation shows up in the schools and how fundamentally disadvantaged Beech Grove is when compared with the 10 other school districts in Marion County, this comparison across Marion County shows Beech Grove's assessed valuation per student relative to surrounding districts. Our district has significantly lower wealth capacity than many neighboring communities.
Beech Grove has the lowest in the county with Washington Township witnessing nearly three times more assessed valuation per student. That matters because assessed valuation directly affects local revenue generation. Remember? AV times rate? Amount of revenue that is generated. Zip codes should not determine your school funding. This slide and the next show that they absolutely do. This slide may be one of the most important financial comparisons in our presentation.
Beach Grove City Schools is projected to receive about $320 per student in operations fund revenue. IPS will receive $3,205 per student. That is 10 times more than a Beech Grove child. The state average, state average, we're talking rural, suburban, and urban, is 1,906. That's the average. That is six times more than what a Beech Grove student generates.
Many neighboring districts receive several times that amount. That gap explains why referendum support is essential in Beech Grove in ways that just may not be the case in other communities. So here it is. I know I keep saying this is the most important slide, but this is a really important slide. This slide illustrates the projected annual impact of the operating referendum at what we're proposing, a 57¢ rate. One important point for taxpayers is that this is that this referendum is structured carefully
and strategically. According to current projection projections, the median homestead in Beech Grove is valued at a $185,700. That number is actually projected to decrease a little bit when it it becomes certified by the state. However, at this time, we are conservatively using $185,700 as our median projection. In this analysis, the taxpayers actually projected to save money over the referendum lifespan as
opposed to our current operating referendum. You will see that because AV will drop at varying rates. The impact on the taxpayer year to year will be the same. Taxpayers will witness, at the highest variable, about a $1.25 more per month than the current referendum and when the AV is at its lowest variable, the taxpayer will witness a savings of almost $3 per month.
Over the life cycle of the eight year referendum, the median household taxpayer will witness $42 less than is currently paid in 2026. Now this slide is important because it reflects the actual language that voters are expected to see on the ballot in November. I need to be transparent. Ballot language can sometimes create confusion without additional context and explanation. When voters read the statement that a median homeowners property tax bill will increase by
$492 per year, many people understandably would interpret that to mean that they will suddenly have to pay an additional $492 more than they're currently paying today. But that is not the reality of what this proposal represents. For most median homeowners, the projected difference between the current referendum rate and the proposed replacement referendum rate is approximately a dollar 25 more per month, as outlined on the
previous slide. I believe we have an obligation to communicate this clearly, honestly, and repeatedly because voters deserve the full picture, not just a single line of ballot language without context. It is important to note that the language displayed tonight is draft. This is draft ballot language, and it does remain subject to the official certification process. There may be slight adjustments to the final wording before it appears on the November ballot, but for now, this is as close as it will probably be.
Who approves that? The DLGF. DLGF. Doctor Amick, can you explain the, $4,400,000 United States amount? Yes. So the 4.4, million amount is the, through the life cycle of the eight years of the referendum, we will never assess more than $4,400,000 generated in revenue. Even if the rate were to, generate more, we would be capped at that 4.4. Is that a statutory thing or is that something you selected? Or Not sure if it's statutory, but it's definitely in the the requirements from DLGF.
Okay. Thank you. Yeah. I would imagine it's statutory now that I reflect on it. Yeah. Another frustrating thing about that language that I should have included in my remarks is that you take the median home value and you have to round it up by the next 50,000. Yeah. So our median home value value is a 187,500. We have to roll it up to $200,000 for that language. So, another I'm gonna stop saying, all the, all the slides are important. That each one is. So, there is sometimes confusion about transfer students and district finances, so I wanna address
that directly. Going back to my very first slide, transfer students generate education fund revenue that goes directly into classrooms and instructional programming. That's all state funding and is not at all related to property taxes. Those dollars do not fund the operations fund or the referendum. At the same time, many referendum supported costs, transportation, utilities, facilities, custodial services, and SROs,
exist regardless of transfer enrollment. Let me be clear. Transfer students place little to no strain on the operations fund. They place no strain on transportation because we do not transport them. Utilities remain the same because our buildings need to be lit, cooled, and heated the same, reality is that transfer students strengthen our financial outlook and help students strengthen our
financial outlook and help sustain staffing and programming opportunities for all of our students. Transfer students help fund teachers, principals, support staff, supplies, curricular materials, everything that functions inside a school building, with the exception of custodial maintenance and food service. So I'll be honest with you. This is my least favorite slide in the entire presentation. Not because it is inaccurate, not because it is exaggerated, but because it represents the
very real human impact of what happens if we are unsuccessful in replacing the operating referendum. If the referendum fails, Beech Grove City Schools would face approximately $4,000,000 in annual reductions beginning in 2029, 01/01/2029. And I wanna be very clear tonight, there is no possible way to absorb reductions of that magnitude through efficiencies alone. Over the last five years, we have already done the hard work of finding efficiencies. We have reduced administrative positions, restructured operations, right size staffing through attrition, analyzed contracts, pursued
grants, and identified alternative revenue streams. We've made difficult financial decisions year after year in order to protect students and avoid reductions in force. That work has already happened. Trimming around the edges. We are talking about direct impacts to the daily experience of students and families in Beech Grove City Schools. We are talking about fewer transportation services, fewer student supports, reduced staffing, reduced operational capacity, pressure on our safety and security systems, pressure on academic programming, pressure on extracurricular app
opportunities. There is no version of a $4,000,000 reduction plan that leaves classrooms untouched or student experiences unchanged. That is difficult to say out loud, but it would be irresponsible not to say it because our community deserves honesty. This presentation is not intended to intended to create fear, quite the opposite really. It is intended to create understanding. The reality is that this referendum is not about expanding services or adding luxuries. It is about preserving the operational foundation that allows our schools to function safely, consistently,
and effectively for children. And while this slide may be my least favorite, it may also be one of the most important, because the people of Beech Grove deserve to understand exactly what is at stake. This may be the most personal slide in the presentation for me. Every single one of us has agency in this work. No one person determines the outcome of a referendum campaign, but collective action absolutely does. One conversation, event, one shared story, one invitation to learn more, these things matter.
My hope is that on November 4, we vote on November 3. My hope is that on November 4, every one of us can say that we gave this our very best effort on behalf of students in the future of Beach Grove. In June, this board will be asked to formally consider and approve the proposed referendum rate that would appear before voters in November. And from that point forward, our responsibility will be clear to work tirelessly to ensure
that every taxpayer, every voter, every family and every community member understands the why behind this effort. Effort. We know strong schools strengthen communities, and Beech Grove City Schools believes in our future. May I answer any questions for the board? Thorough? Feel like you've got your we've been working on this for the community's sake, over a year and a half. You know, this is not work that has just sort of developed here overnight. Board has been engaged well over a year and a half in in understanding, certainly,
senate enrolled act one impact, you know, how that's showing up. So I just appreciate the board's work in this process. Certainly, the last five years of supporting the reductions supporting innovation, innovating revenue stream generating. You've been with us every step of the way, and we're so grateful for that. Sir? So this second paragraph is actual actually gonna be on the ballot, and it is so misleading. Yes. It is so misleading. We are required to use their STEM.
We submitted modifications to their template, and they made some edits. And we are currently in the space of that language as being our language. Even though this is replacing another That's right. That people are already paying Yes. Their verbiage makes it sound like everybody's out another five hundred years. That's right. That's why it's our our responsibility before then to make sure that folks understand what they're approving. Yeah.
You would think that you're increasing your Yeah. Spend by that amount of money. And really, I mean, worst case, it looks like for that median household, it's a dollar 25 in addition every month. So less than a cup of coffee. Thank you for putting this together. I think this is really good in terms of the message and something else that I wanna say beyond my experience as a board member but as a taxpayer. Yeah. I really appreciate all of the really hard effort of trying to make make do, I guess, with with less.
You know, trying trying to, you know, make the pennies go further. And there is no not a student here that gets to see all that. They don't they don't get to experience less. Yes. They don't see the impacts, but it is behind the scenes of everything. The administrators have to take on extra roles. Yeah. The the, you know, titles keep going on. We have to continue to utilize and come up with inventive ways of still providing the services and the education and everything without having, you know, an impact at the,
the student level, which is, I think, commendable. You know? There's there's nobody, that, is doing without, even though, we're having to make those penny stretch further. So thank you. Thank you. It means a lot. Very good. Thank you all. So, this evening, we would just be asking the board, to approve an a modification to our enrollment policy with the Indiana Digital Learning School and also the Indiana Digital Alternative Learning School. It is, a modification that will increase our enrollment capacity.
Anybody have any questions for that? Could I get a motion for somebody to to improve the enrollment policy? I'll motion. Rob? I'll second. Tara? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Minutes and claims. Does anybody have any questions for concerning either one of those? We'll just lump them all together. Could we get a motion to approve the minutes and the claims for April 2026? I'll make that motion. Tara. I need a second. April? All in favor? I. Opposed? Okay. Motion to approve the field trips. Got a few going on. Mhmm. This is awesome. I'll motion.
Do you wanna approve the fundraiser too? Absolutely. Let's just do a bell swoop. Fund one saved. Beth, all in favor? Aye. All opposed? Okay. Committee reports. I think, Brian, you're usually first with c nine, aren't you? Yeah. So odd month, I guess. Or not an odd month, I I guess. Last time, we had, a, c nine update because it was the week prior. This time, it's, two days from now. Uh-huh. So all I can share is what is being planned. So, we we have a student, a meeting this Thursday, upcoming where we're gonna be
looking at the first reading for the budget for this next school year. That's already been discussed with the superintendents. My understanding is positive feedback. Very favorable. Yeah. It's a very small increase, like one point something percent increase, for the previous year. I don't see any students of the month on the agenda, so I don't know what that is yet. But I'll find out on Thursday. And, there was positive things to be said about, the students being recognized at an award ceremony. And, over a 100 students were were recognized at that. So Yeah. Yeah. Well, congratulations.
Come on. There's also, been a few events, you know, that that, have have taken taken place. They have a sale, for flowers at c nine, and, they had a food trunk truck competition, I think, tonight, actually, that we couldn't make it. So, yeah, a lot lot of great things happening. We've seen it. Great. How about RDC? RDC, we had two vacancies. They sat, Derek Blice, longtime Beach Grove resident, who's awesome. Season one. There's still an open spot. And, they started off the redevelopment plan with a company called REA.
It, it didn't work out. They just voted. We had a special meeting three weeks ago, I think it was, and, they're gonna go with Veritas Group. Very, very excited about that. It's, I like their presentation so much. I actually brought them here. Yep. We just we don't have any big projects to to work with them, but I would love to figure out a way to get us a little bit more involved in their vision. And then a new meeting next Thursday. So Yes.
The concerts in Saratypo Park start at the end of the month. Hey. So please come see those. They're free and very family friendly. Do you have the first bandages? Do you remember? I do not remember. I don't remember. I just saw it. The list is all on the community center, site on the city website and the calendar as well. I do not remember the first one. And also in June, a lot of our students would be interested in this. It's the touch a truck event. So be on the lookout for that too. That'd be fun. Yeah. That's a really fun one. How about the education foundation?
Okay. I'm scared. Yeah. It it education foundation was great. We well, the board, approved the release of the teacher grant. So those are actually out right now and, also approved all the student scholarships. So that was super fun. Danielle Zink from the high school participated in the meeting, and she was able to kind of go through their process. And, of course, such an exciting time when students receive their scholarship nomination.
So, that was great. And, we are going to present to the education foundation about the referendum in August. The Alumni Association, they give out, scholarships as well. We had eight people submit an essay. We gave out six, which was exciting. And I've done this I've been part of the group that's done this, I think, for four years now. They were the best written essays I've seen.
Wonderful. They were they look like something that yeah. So good. So good. I I was so impressed by all of the ones that we got, but we had eight and we gave six. Our golf outing is Friday, June 12. $70 a person. Fun will be had by all. Please, if you wanna join, please get on. If you don't have your forms, you can get on our website, the school website, and get the form, or you can go on Facebook and get it that way. Also, the alumni dinner is June 13 at Primo.
Corey Winn is teacher of the year. Wonderful. Dennis Buckley is alumnus of the year. Oh, how nice. And if anybody like to come to alumni meeting, they are on the third Tuesday of the month at 06:30. I think that's all we have. Right? Who would like to make a motion to adjourn? Rob, why don't you send your it's your last meeting? No. We don't want more. Almost. Official. Official. Yes. All second? Okay. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? K. Good night, everybody. Good night.