If it seems as if every election these days includes a school referendum, you're right. When Indiana shifted public school funding away from property taxes, that moved Carmel Clay Schools from near the top of funding dollars received to the bottom.
That change means some of the highest-performing public schools, including CCS, need voter support to add programs they need. We’re not the Lone Ranger; several other states, including Ohio, use this method. If you’d like to learn how Indiana got to the current funding method, you can learn more from Hamilton Southeastern CFO Mike Reuter on the OneZone YouTube Channel (link below).
The request this fall is to fund a school resource officer in every Carmel school, in addition to mental health professionals and programs to ensure every student in our schools has access to help
in
their school. School resource officers are much more than safety professionals. They’re mentors and relationship-builders too.
OneZone supports the school referendum. As a chamber of commerce, why do we care? Because high-performing schools remain one of the biggest reasons businesses choose to locate here and stay here. Great public schools matter. Fortunately, ours are strong and safe. Let’s keep them that way for all our students. We strongly encourage you to vote yes on November 5th.
Mo Merhoff
President, OneZone
