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Frequently asked questions
On November 3, voters within Frontier School Corporation will decide whether to approve an operating referendum for no more than eight years.The referendum would support the people, programs and services our students rely on every day: teachers and staff, manageable class sizes, student health and safety initiatives, and academic and support programs.The ballot authorizes a maximum rate of $0.25 per $100 of net assessed value and a maximum annual amount of $1,750,000. Frontier’s official 2027 Revenue Spending Plan estimates first-year collections of $1,542,741, below that maximum.
Yes.Our community approved Frontier’s current operating referendum in 2019. That referendum passed and authorized a maximum rate of $0.21 per $100 of net assessed value.That funding has helped us support teachers, reduce class sizes and maintain academic programs.The November 2026 question would renew and replace that local operating support for the next eight years under the property-tax laws now in effect.
No. Frontier already has an operating referendum on property-tax bills today.The current referendum has a maximum authorized rate of 21 cents. The actual certified referendum rate for 2026 is 20.38 cents.The November question would replace the existing referendum with a new eight-year authorization with a maximum rate of 25 cents.That is why looking only at the 25-cent number does not tell you the year-to-year change in a taxpayer’s bill. We are not going from zero to 25 cents.
That is the language in the state-approved ballot question.Frontier already has a referendum, but the November ballot is required to present the proposed authorization using the new maximum rate and the statutory tax-impact calculation.The official question therefore says Frontier would “increase property taxes” and then shows the impact calculated from the maximum proposed rate.That ballot calculation is different from asking, “How much will my total 2027 tax bill change compared with what I am paying in 2026?”That second question is where the effect of our existing referendum and the new SEA 1 deductions and credits matter.
Because Indiana changed the property-tax base.SEA 1 increases deductions and makes other changes that reduce the amount of net assessed value available to generate local property-tax revenue. Our Summer 2026 financial forecast projects that SEA 1 will reduce net assessed-value growth over the next five years.That has two sides to it:A smaller taxable value can mean less property-tax impact for the taxpayer, but it also means the same tax rate generates less revenue for our schools.So comparing 21 cents under the old tax base with 25 cents under the new tax base is not an apples-to-apples comparison.
SEA 1 is Indiana’s 2025 property-tax legislation.Among other changes, it phases in additional property-tax deductions and credits and changes the treatment of certain business personal property. Our financial projections show those changes reducing Frontier’s net assessed value during the early years of the referendum period.For homeowners, those changes can reduce taxable value or the final tax bill.For our schools, the same changes mean there is less taxable value available to generate revenue.That is an important part of why the maximum referendum rate on this year’s ballot is higher than the maximum rate approved in 2019.
TERM 8 yearsMAXIMUM RATE $0.25MEDIAN HOME USED ON BALLOT $250,000BALLOT IMPACT $284/yearPROJECTED 2027 TOTAL TAX-BILL CHANGE AFTER SEA 1 REDUCTIONS -$53/yearThe first four figures come from the official referendum question.The final figure comes from our detailed parcel-by-parcel tax analysis comparing the projected total 2027 property-tax bill with the 2026 bill after the new SEA 1 deductions and credits are applied.These numbers answer different questions, which is why it is important not to treat the $284 ballot number as the expected year-to-year change in the total tax bill.
Indiana’s referendum process requires a standardized calculation using the proposed referendum and a median residence value rounded according to the state’s rules.For Frontier, the residence value shown on the ballot is $250,000. At the maximum 25-cent referendum rate, the state-required calculation produces the $284 annual figure printed in the ballot question.The $284 number is therefore a ballot calculation at the maximum referendum rate.It is not the same as comparing the total tax bill a Frontier homeowner pays in 2026 with the projected total bill in 2027.
No. Not necessarily.Frontier homeowners are already paying for the existing operating referendum.The ballot calculation also does not tell you the complete effect of the new SEA 1 deductions and credits on the rest of the property-tax bill.Our detailed parcel-by-parcel analysis projects that the total 2027 tax bill for the median Frontier home would actually be about $53 lower than in 2026 after the SEA 1 reductions are included.Individual properties will vary because net assessed values, deductions, credits and taxing districts differ.
Because they are measuring two different things.The $284 figure asks: What is the calculated impact of the proposed referendum at its maximum rate on the statutory $250,000 median home?The -$53 figure asks: What is the projected change in that homeowner’s entire property-tax bill from 2026 to 2027 after the existing tax structure, the referendum and the new SEA 1 reductions are taken into account?The first is a required ballot calculation.The second is a year-over-year tax-bill comparison.That difference is one of the most important things to understand about the November question.
No.The 25-cent rate is a maximum authorization.We have a good example of that today. Our current referendum was authorized at a maximum of 21 cents, but Frontier’s certified 2026 referendum rate is 20.38 cents. The actual rate necessary in a particular year depends in part on net assessed value and the amount of revenue being levied, subject to the limits voters authorize.
They place two separate limits on the referendum.The rate cannot exceed $0.25 per $100 of net assessed value, and the annual amount cannot exceed $1.75 million.So even if net assessed values change significantly, the referendum remains subject to both limits approved by voters.
No.Our official Revenue Spending Plan estimates $1,542,741 in referendum revenue for 2027.The $1.75 million figure is the maximum annual amount authorized by the ballot, not the first-year estimate.
Our 2027 Revenue Spending Plan identifies four areas:Retaining teachers and staff — $903,811Maintaining class sizes — $385,200Student health and safety initiatives — $119,200Academic and support programs — $134,530Together, those amounts equal the estimated $1,542,741 in first-year referendum revenue.The spending plan can be updated in future years as revenue and student needs change, but spending must remain within the purposes authorized by the referendum.
One of the clearest examples is class size.We made maintaining smaller classes a priority when our community approved the current referendum. As some elementary grade levels began reaching approximately 25 to 28 students per classroom, we added teaching positions to bring those classes back closer to the small-school environment our families expect.We have also used available operating resources to remain competitive for teachers and staff and to continue supporting student programming.The new Revenue Spending Plan continues those same priorities.
Because people are what make our schools work.Of the approximately $1.54 million estimated in the first-year spending plan, about $904,000 is identified for retaining teachers and staff, with another $385,200 identified for maintaining class sizes.Class size and staffing are directly connected. Fewer teachers mean more students must be placed in each remaining classroom.For Frontier, where personal attention and small classes are a major part of the school experience, staffing decisions have an immediate effect on students.
Our schools have made significant investments in student safety.We operate our own school police department and have upgraded cameras, secured entrances, door locks, bullet-resistant glass and emergency-response technology. Our E3 emergency system can identify where an emergency is occurring and connect school personnel with law enforcement response.The 2027 referendum spending plan includes $119,200 for student health and safety initiatives.
No.This is an operating referendum, not a construction referendum.The official spending plan is for teachers and staff, student health and safety, maintaining class sizes, and academic and support programs.Buildings, long-term debt and operating expenses are handled through different parts of school finance.
Indiana school finance separates money into funds with different legal purposes.Money raised to repay debt cannot simply be redirected to pay teacher salaries or ordinary classroom operating expenses.An operating referendum provides revenue specifically for the educational and operational purposes identified in the ballot question and annual spending plan.
Every expense should continue to be reviewed carefully, including administration.But the scale of the referendum matters. The 2027 spending plan estimates approximately $1.54 million in referendum revenue, with the large majority specifically assigned to teachers and staff and maintaining class sizes.A loss of that recurring revenue would require the School Board to make future budget decisions based on the money actually available. Those decisions would not be limited to a single line item such as administration.
The new referendum revenue would not be available.Our schools would then have to build future budgets around the revenue available without it. Because the proposed spending plan directs the majority of referendum revenue toward teachers, staff and maintaining class sizes, those areas would necessarily be part of future budget discussions.That does not mean a particular teacher, program or activity is automatically eliminated the day after the election. Specific budget and staffing decisions would still have to be made publicly by the School Board.
That would depend on the budget decisions made afterward, but staffing and class size are directly connected.We have added teachers specifically to move some elementary classes away from the 25-to-28-student range and closer to the small classes Frontier families value.Because the referendum spending plan includes substantial funding for both teachers and maintaining class sizes, losing that revenue would make those staffing levels more difficult to maintain.
Indiana provides much of the funding for classroom education, but state funding is only one part of the school-finance system.Local property taxes support other school operating needs, and Indiana law also allows communities to approve operating referendums for additional educational and operational revenue. DLGF describes operating referendums as a mechanism school corporations may use when additional revenue is needed to carry out educational responsibilities or replace certain lost property-tax revenue.Our community has used that local option since voters approved Frontier’s referendum in 2019.
A larger tax base can generate the same amount of revenue at a lower rate.That is one reason the maximum rate should not be confused with the rate that must be imposed every year.Our current referendum illustrates this: the authorized maximum is 21 cents, while the certified 2026 rate is 20.38 cents because of the net assessed value available to support the levy.The reverse is also important. If SEA 1 reduces taxable net assessed value, a higher rate may be needed to generate the same amount of revenue.
The referendum applies to taxable property within Frontier School Corporation.The amount paid by an individual property owner depends on the property’s net assessed value and the deductions, credits and other provisions that apply to that property.For homeowners, SEA 1 changes several of those deductions and credits, which is why an individual tax impact cannot be determined simply by looking at the referendum rate.
Your individual result depends on your net assessed value, homestead status, deductions and credits.The best starting point is the gross assessed value shown on your property record, not the amount you paid for the home or an online estimate of its market value.The website’s tax information should show both the referendum calculation and the projected change in the total property-tax bill, because those are not the same number.
No more than eight years.The official November question authorizes the referendum for that period.Any operating referendum beyond that authorization would require another public process under the law in effect at that time.
Friends of Frontier Schools is the community organization behind supportFrontierKids.com and the campaign materials associated with the referendum.We are parents, educators, administrators and community members who support Frontier schools and want our neighbors to have clear information about the November question.Campaign activity, yard signs, the website and contributions are separate from Frontier School Corporation funds. The approved yard-sign artwork identifies Friends of Frontier Schools as the organization paying for the campaign and states that no tax dollars are used.
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