Referendum 2026

A referendum is an optional school funding source that must be voted on and approved by the community. Public schools are now more dependent on referendum funds to maintain services for students because of changes in state funding allocations and property tax cap legislation, which reduced funding for schools. The Indiana legislature introduced the referendum funding model so communities can make ongoing school finance decisions at the local level. 

Watch the Video All About Referendums

When the state implemented property tax cap legislation, it significantly decreased funding for many schools. The state funding formula has also not kept pace with inflation, and new property tax legislation has also negatively impacted school funding. These factors make it increasingly difficult to maintain programming year over year. Additionally, school districts that serve more affluent areas get less money per student from the state. Noblesville Schools is in the bottom 6% of the state for school funding. The district has had operating referendums for the past 16 years and relies on the approximately $25 million/year it generates to provide outstanding academic programming, reduce class sizes, recruit and retain strong educators during a teacher shortage, provide safety staff and equipment, support students’ increasing mental health needs, and offer exceptional career and extracurricular opportunities. 

The Referendum Fund makes up approximately 20% of operational funding for the district. This equals approximately $25 million annually. 

Many of the things we are able to do for students have been made possible thanks to referendum funding approved by the community. Specifically, this financial support has provided competitive teacher salaries, school resource officers and other safety initiatives, mental health resources, behavior management, manageable class sizes, and many of our academic, career technical, college prep, and enrichment programs. The 2026 referendum is not asking for new things, but rather a continuation of funding to support academic excellence, care for students, and strong partnerships in the community. 

• WATCH What Does the Referendum Pay For? Hiring + Keeping Strong Teachers
• WATCH What Does the Referendum Pay For? Appropriate Class Sizes
• WATCH What Does the Referendum Pay For? Counselors to Manage Bullying, Suicide, Behavior, Crisis

It’s important to note that referendum dollars cannot be used for buildings, athletic facilities, construction projects, or to repay debt.

While the district has made significant financial cuts and efficiencies already, it cannot make up a loss of $25 million/year without a major impact to staff, services and student programming. Without referendum funding, the following changes would be likely: 

• Significant staff and service reductions
• Increased class sizes
• Cuts to academic, college/career, and enrichment programming
• Reduced safety and mental health services and supports
• Increased difficulty attracting and retaining strong educators

We take our role as stewards of your taxpayer dollars very seriously and are committed to cost savings, responsible financial management, and transparency. For example, we have: 

• Decreased our portion of the tax rate for the last seven years in a row.
• Funded school and athletic venue updates and expansions through bonds (loans) with no increase to the tax rate and no use of referendum dollars.  
• Reduced millions of dollars in costs by making staffing reductions, freezing administrator salaries, negotiating new vendor contracts, and streamlining services.
• Upgraded our credit rating to the highest of any school district in the state. 
• Generated revenue through sponsorships, optional services, and grant writing. 
• Launched a financial education and transparency site called Dollars + $ense to make school finances more accessible to the public. 

Visit Dollars + $ense for more information on how Noblesville Schools manages finance

The current operating referendum rate approved by residents in 2018 is 37 cents per every one hundred dollars of net assessed value. The new proposed maximum rate is 57 cents. This rate was advised by professional analysts and approved by district leaders as an appropriate amount needed to run Noblesville Schools over the next eight years. While the maximum allowable rate would be 57 cents, the district does not plan to take that full rate each year. The rate for 2027 has already been announced as 38.5 cents.

The proposed rate is higher than the 2018 rate because new SEA1 property tax legislation reduces funding for schools. Noblesville Schools needs a higher maximum rate to bring in a comparable amount of money. 

Over the eight year referendum period, the proposed maximum 57 cent rate will mean an annual average increase (over what they are paying currently) of about $1.88/month for a Noblesville home valued at $350K, depending on their specific property tax situation. Please note that this average is calculated based on the fact the district does not plan to take the maximum allowable 57 cent rate each year and the fact that taxpayers are already supporting a referendum (which will expire at the end of 2026). It is also different than the current rate due to SEA1 property legislation changes. 

Even with a referendum, the new SEA1 property tax legislation offers homeowners a “discount coupon” on their property taxes, so that taxes are lower than they would be otherwise. 

Residents can use the calculator to find exactly what they are paying currently and what they would pay under the new referendum. 

Ballot language is regulated by the state and must be worded and calculated a certain way. The 2026 referendum ballot question will read as follows: 

“Shall Noblesville Schools increase property taxes paid to the school corporation for no more than eight (8) years for the purpose of funding safety and security measures in all buildings and maintaining and enhancing academic and educationally-related programs in response to reductions in property tax revenue by imposing a property tax rate that does not exceed $0.57 and results in a maximum annual amount that does not exceed $43,842,578.  If this operating referendum public question is approved by the voters, for a median residence of $350,000, the property's annual property tax bill would increase by $955 per year.”

It's important to note that the $955/year increase referred to on the ballot assumes no current referendum, but Noblesville residents have already been supporting a referendum for the last 16 years. 

The math used to calculate the $955/year also assumes that Noblesville Schools will take the full 57 cent rate in 2027. This is not the case and we have already committed publicly that the 2027 will be 38.5 cents. The district plans to use only what is needed to maintain current funding support, and does not expect to need the maximum 57 cent rate. 

Looking forward, the ballot language also doesn’t take into account the new homeowner savings from SEA1 legislation that will be phasing in over the next few years. Even with the new referendum, SEA1 means taxes will be lower than they would be otherwise.  

After accounting for these factors, the average annual increase over all eight years for a resident with a $350K home would be about $1.88 more per month than they are paying currently.

We had to certify the ballot language before we had the most recent information on Noblesville assessed values. We originally thought we might need the 57-cent rate in some later years of the referendum, but based on the most recent estimates we now think we will not need to take 57 cents at all. 

A higher rate doesn’t necessarily mean a higher cost for taxpayers. Due to new property tax legislation, homeowners will be getting a “discount coupon” on their property taxes, which means the rate needs to be higher to continue to generate adequate funding for schools. The rate of year-over-year increase will actually be less under the proposed 2026 referendum than it has been under the 2018 referendum.

The 2018 referendum replaced a 2016 referendum with the goal of generating an additional $50 million (over eight years) for safety, mental health, and teacher salaries. Unlike 2018, the 2026 proposal asks only to continue current funding for existing staff and programs. Referendum funds do grow gradually over time due to assessed value growth. All of our other funding sources generally do as well. Schools cost more to run today than they did yesterday due to rising costs, even if we do the exact same things with the same number of staff. Referendum dollars fund things like STEM and college/career programming, recruiting and retaining strong teachers, school safety, mental health services, extracurricular opportunities, and appropriate class sizes.

The state provides less money per student for districts with fewer low-income students. This means schools in wealthy areas actually receive less state funding. Noblesville Schools is in the bottom 6% of Indiana’s school funding formula, meaning that we receive fewer state dollars for student funding than 94% of other communities.  

It’s important for the district to manage taxpayer dollars responsibly and tighten its belt when needed, just like everyone else. Noblesville Schools has reduced millions of dollars in costs by making staffing reductions, freezing administrator salaries, negotiating new vendor contracts, and streamlining services. However, unlike businesses, school districts have legal obligations for what must be funded, how it must be funded and how funds can be spent. Schools can’t choose which customers to serve, which services to provide, or raise prices to generate more revenue. This means they have much less flexibility than businesses to address financial challenges they face.

We have made recent cuts of of approximately $4 million to align our spending with reductions in funding. This included reducing 6% of our administrative leadership positions and freezing salaries for all administrative leaders. Additionally, we have renegotiated contracts, shifted equipment purchases, implemented technology efficiencies and maximized revenue generation. Unfortunately, these savings are not nearly enough to account for the $25 million/year that would be lost without the referendum. 

Facilities updates are not funded through referendum or education dollars. Unlike home and business finance, there is less flexibility to move money and there are legal rules about how school funds can be used. Facility improvements come from a totally separate bucket that is funded by bonds (loans) with no increase to the tax rate. Referendum funds are needed for staff and education programming.

Noblesville Schools recently reduced 6% of our administrative leadership positions and froze salaries for all administrative leaders. Having said that, Noblesville Schools is committed to attracting and retaining outstanding employees to best serve students. This applies not just to teachers, but to leadership and support staff as well. Compensation for our superintendent and other administrative leaders is comparable relative to other area school districts, and is well below what CEOs and executives with similar skills and responsibilities earn in the business sector. Additionally, our superintendent and leaders could work for free and it would not be nearly enough to account for the $25 million/year that would be lost without the referendum. 

While the state may be spending more on education, that does not mean that more money is coming to Noblesville Schools or that state funding has kept up with the rate of increasing legal requirements and expenses to run schools. Indiana continues to send an increasing percentage of funding to private and charter schools, meaning less money for public schools. Additionally, recent property tax legislation has reduced local level funding for schools, creating another significant financial gap. 

Several other area communities have supported referendums for their school districts. Each district evaluates its own unique budget needs and challenges, and differing factors come into play because rates are based on assessed home and business values in the community as a whole. Also, each district gets different funding per student from the state. Noblesville Schools has had operating referendums for the last 16 years and is asking for funding to continue the programming and services the Noblesville community has come to expect. 

All Noblesville residents who live within the Noblesville Schools district boundary will see the referendum question on the November 3, 2026 election ballot. This means all taxpayers, even if they do not have children who attend Noblesville Schools, have a say in the issue.

• Noblesville Schools is the largest employer in Noblesville. A major loss of funding that leads to staffing reductions will impact the community overall. 
• Noblesville Schools is an economic development driver and a key factor in why businesses choose to locate and stay in Noblesville. 
• Noblesville Schools, and the academic, healthcare and technical programming we're able to offer thanks to referendum funding, is a key workforce development pipeline for area employers. 
• Noblesville Schools is a key factor in why families choose to locate and stay in Noblesville, maintaining strong property values. 
• Noblesville Schools is a source of athletic, performing arts, entertainment, and school traditions for the community at large. Why is Noblesville Schools the Heart of the Community? 

School finance is unique due to funding and legal requirements. Practices used in personal or business finances may not always apply under the rules schools are required to follow. In Indiana, school districts are funded through three main revenue sources – federal, state and local. 

Federal – Noblesville Schools receives very minimal federal grants passed through the State. 

State – the State of Indiana uses a formula to calculate different amounts of funds for each school district. The amount of funding is different from district to district and also changes each year. The formula takes into account the total number of students, student special needs, student poverty levels and more. This money accounts for almost half of district funding.

Local - Local taxpayers support schools through property taxes. These dollars are used to fund transportation, operations, and capital investments. Additionally, local communities may choose to pass a referendum to provide further support to schools.

As required by law, school finance is managed in specific “buckets" that are intended to fund specific purposes. This is why districts may have enough money to replace buses or update facilities, but not enough money to pay their teachers more. 

Watch the Video School Finance Q&A

If approved, the 2026 referendum would provide funding through 2034.

Visit Indianavoters.in.gov or Vote411 to register to vote, confirm your registration status, learn about early and absentee voting, find your polling location and more. 

All Noblesville residents who live within the Noblesville Schools district boundary will see the referendum question on the November 3, 2026 election ballot. This means all taxpayers, even if they do not have children who attend Noblesville Schools, have a say in the issue.

Noblesville Schools superintendent Dr. Dan Hile will be hosting public information sessions across the community this summer and fall. We will share meeting specifics with the public once they have been finalized. Please plan to attend a session to learn more and get answers to any questions you may have. If you’d like to schedule a referendum meeting for your group or organization, you can submit a request here , email dan_hile@nobl.k12.in.us or contact us at (317) 773-3171.