Voters pass $220 million referendum for South Bend schools

SOUTH BEND — Voters approved the South Bend school district’s $220 million referendum, agreeing to a tax hike that is supposed to generate money for building upgrades, teacher raises and new literacy specialists.

The referendum appeared as two public questions on Tuesday’s primary election ballot. One issue for operating expenses received 14,587 “yes” votes (versus 9,731 “no”), or 60% of the total, according to unofficial final results. The issue for capital expenses had 13,821 “yes” votes (57%) and 10,393 “no” votes.

“I can’t believe it,” said School Board President John Anella, as he celebrated the victory with his daughter Wednesday. “I knew we had a lead but — it’s the people’s victory. They came out, voted and showed they care about our community and kids during a very dark time. It shows that we have a bright future ahead of us.”

The results, posted by the county Wednesday afternoon, were delayed because of a large number of mail-in ballots that were cast because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I am grateful and humbled by the show of confidence and support for public education that South Bend voters demonstrated Tuesday,” Superintendent Todd Cummings said in a statement. “This is not the end of our campaign for excellence. We are just past the starting line. … Ultimate victory will come when every South Bend child is able to pursue happiness equipped with an excellent education: reading on grade-level, in safe and secure buildings, and graduating college and workforce ready.”

Now that the referendum is approved, residents can expect to see a tax rate increase in 2021. That increase will restore the 38 cents per $100 of assessed value that was cut from school funding this year because of the state “circuit breaker” tax caps, and also add another 2 cents.

Annual school-allocated property taxes for a home valued at $75,000 will be $78, according to a tax calculator on Indiana Gateway’s website, which was built by the Department of Local Government Finance. For a home valued at $100,000, about $143 will be owed.

The property tax hikes will raise $20.8 million per year over eight years for the district’s operations budget, plus an extra $54 million for capital improvements.

The money, school district officials say, will allow them to expand pre-kindergarten access, move forward with building maintenance projects and security upgrades, offer teacher raises and add counselors and social workers.

“We have the hardest-working educators in the state right here in South Bend,” Cummings said in his statement. “They will now have the tools to ensure that the children of South Bend receive an education second to none.”

Cummings previously said all referendum spending is guided by the district’s strategic plan priorities: literacy, financial sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion and community partnerships.

But that strategic plan, and a district study of expenses and spending, are still being developed.

Anella said the study is “halfway done” and should be completed and shared with the public within the next couple of months. Officials hope to have the strategic plan finished before the end of the year.

“The sooner, the better, but we don’t want to rush things,” Anella said. “We want as much community input as possible from our teachers, staff, parents — we want everyone to have a say.”

Jeff Rea, head of the South Bend Regional Chamber, said he is eager to review those findings and would like to see local business leaders get involved in the district’s planning.

Over the last few months, Rea said, he was “neutral at best” about the referendum and wanted more information to be made public ahead of Tuesday’s vote on how the money would be spent and how it would improve educational outcomes.

“The concerns we’ve articulated along the way are still concerns, but I am optimistic work will be done. The referendum was the first step in helping improve this system,” Rea said. “This is an important milestone that signals a new era, and I think if the school system capitalizes on the things they said they are going to do, they will see some great long-term success.”

‘Unusual campaign’

A high number of mail-in ballots were cast in St. Joseph County, and spring and summer elections often have low turnout.

But primary referendums have typically fared better than those held during general elections in November. Low turnout can be beneficial for schools in a primary election, as enthusiastic referendum backers turn out and drive the results.

“We avoided November’s election because we didn’t want to get lost in the noise,” Anella said. “I know some people suggested to move it, but we stuck to our guns and said, ‘This is our chance. It’s too important to wait.’”

Still, it was unclear heading into Tuesday’s vote how voters would react to a request to raise property taxes during a time of economic uncertainty.

Mary Downes, co-chair of the “South Bend, Vote Yes” political action committee, said she had anticipated a win “with caution.”

“This was a very unusual campaign with the pandemic shutdown,” Downes said. “It was hard to know what to think.”

She pointed to the inability to host in-person promotional events and to opposition from “Vote No South Bend.” That PAC was created by Larry Garatoni, president of the Career Academy charter school board, who opposed the referendum and told taxpayers that “South Bend schools need better resource management, not more money.”

In a statement to The Tribune Wednesday, “Vote No” PAC members said their goal was to draw attention to the issues facing South Bend schools.

“Now that voters have given the school corporation exactly what they’ve asked for we also believe there can be no more excuses. South Bend got the resources they said they needed to turn the corporation around, improve their students’ academic performance, fix their fiscal problems, and ‘rightsize’ their system,” the “Vote No” PAC said. “We hope to see swift and bold action by the board in the coming months to tackle these issues and begin their improvement. They have no time to waste.”

Despite the hurdles, Downes said “Vote Yes” had plenty of time to develop and share information — most of which was done online and through social media platforms.

“This was a grassroots campaign. I think anytime you are up against a big boy and come out victorious, that’s a nice win,” Downes said. “Money doesn’t always win. And it says a lot about South Bend and how dedicated people are.”