Voters in Avon Schools District to Decide on Tax Referendum
Voters in Avon Schools District to Decide on Property Tax Referendum
AVON, Ind. — Voters in the Avon Schools area will decide over the next week whether to continue a tax referendum for the district.
The proposal says the maximum tax rate will be 33 cents per $100 of assessed value, a drop from the district’s initial 35-cent proposal. According to Avon School’s calculator estimate, a home assessed at $250,000 will have an estimated $400 annual referendum tax liability.
The property tax referendum was first established seven years ago and expires after eight years unless it’s renewed by voters. Supporters of the referendum say renewing it will help fund teachers’ salaries and lower class sizes.
Avon Schools Superintendent Scott Wyndham said on Monday that he’s calling on the community to vote “yes” on the matter.
“There are a lot of ‘vote yes’ signs, which is great, but signs don’t vote, people go vote,” Wyndham said.
Early voting started on Monday. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4.
Wyndham, who’s also a parent, said after the referendum started, the number of students in his daughter’s classes went from around 29 students per class down to 22. He believes that has correlated to better student performance and student-teacher relationships.
“I worry a little bit that our community takes for granted the great things happening in our schools and the great class sizes we have and I get to bring that perspective as a parent who lived it, and got to see those classes and those impacts on my own kids,” said Wyndham.
The Avon Community School Corporation has nearly 11,000 students. Avon High School was also ranked 13 out of nearly 300 Indiana schools based on SAT Ready High Schools.
“There is no doubt our success over the last seven years has been unmatched,” Wyndham added. “We have the highest graduation rate at Avon High School that we have on record. We worked our way back to the top 10% on Indiana school districts on standardized testing because of our low class sizes. Our SAT scores are the best in the state.”
Others argue against the referendum, including Indiana Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, claiming it will make the property tax situation worse for homeowners.
“Property taxes are crushing too many homeowners, and this referendum would only make it worse,” Beckwith said in a post to social media. “Enough is enough. Families deserve relief, not bigger bills.”
Lt. Gov. Beckwith was in Avon recently, knocking on people’s doors, encouraging them to be a “no” vote on the tax referendum.
