The Duneland School Corporation will have an estimated $1 million less in tax revenue available for the 2026 budget as a result of property tax changes enacted by Senate Enrolled Act 1.
Lynn Kwilasz, assistant superintendent and chief financial officer for the Duneland School Corporation, outlined the district’s budget during the public hearing portion of the Duneland School Board meeting Monday. Senate Enrolled Act 1 granted property tax relief for residents but political subdivisions and school districts across Indiana say it will have a significant negative impact on their budgets.
The caps on the yearly growth of property tax revenues collected from taxpayers for operations have increased under the new law. As a result, the school district cannot capture a total of $2.291 million in projected revenue growth for operations, Kwilasz said. That figure of property tax revenue loss went up $1 million with the Senate bill.
“Sadly, this loss of funding with no mechanism to replace it puts us at real risk to have to scale back programs, staffing, student experiences and health and safety initiatives that our community would expect,” Kwilasz said.
In the years going forward, the loss of tax revenue will have a further impact on future school budgets, Kwilasz said.
The Duneland School Board decided to put the renewal of a referendum that would raise an estimated $16.575 million annually on the Nov. 4 ballot. The 8-year referendum provides additional revenue to support the district’s educational programs.
Early voting for the referendum starts Monday, Oct. 20, and continues through Nov. 3. Voters in the Duneland Schools can cast ballots from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; and 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Nov. 1. Early voting locations are the Porter County Administration Building, 155 Indiana Ave., Suite 102A, Valparaiso, and Duneland School Corporation Trojan Learning Center Annex, 411 S. 5th St., Chesterton.
Early voting at both locations ends at noon Monday, Nov. 3. More information can be found at www.portercountyin.gov/1111/Early-Voting.
The referendum was put on the ballot a year early because the legislature made a new requirement that a referendum could only be on a November general election ballot. Kwilasz said the school district wanted to have a clear picture of what its budget would be for 2027. If the referendum fails in November, it would likely be put on the November 2026 ballot.
Kwilasz proposes that a $5 million portion of the referendum funding be set aside in the rainy day fund to mitigate the financial impact of Senate Enrolled Act 1.
“This budget, with continued referendum support, will allow us to maintain our current class sizes, provide a wide range of programs, both curricular and extra-curricular, emphasize student safety and wellness, and recruit and retain our tremendous teaching staff,” said Superintendent Chip Pettit.
The school board is expected to approve the budget at a special meeting scheduled for Oct. 20.
Meanwhile, the Duneland School Corporation’s enrollment is on the rise.
Kwilasz said the school district has seen its enrollment increase to 5,831, which is up 125 over last year. She said the increase in enrollment can be partially attributed to the Northwest Indiana Online School and a larger kindergarten class.
Duneland’s enrollment had been in slight decline since the 2020-21 school year, when there were 5,826 students. There were 5,706 students last year.
In other business, Assistant Superintendent Robert McDermott reported on what the Duneland School Corporation has done to enhance its security measures.
McDermott said the district is above the state average when it comes to having school resource officers, with six Chesterton Police officers assigned to patrol eight buildings.
The district has also enhanced its security camera systems for all buildings.
There are 350 radios issued to staff throughout the district. The staff is also equipped with a RAVE panic button system that can immediately summon emergency police or medical help.
In addition, new locks have been installed for all the classrooms. When the teacher closes the door, it is automatically locked on the outside.
McDermott said he also continues to refine an emergency plan and had two practice sessions if there had to be a reunification of families after an emergency event.
The Board also approved the use of two YouTube videos for use in the Human Sexuality portion of Health class at Chesterton High School. It is the requirement of a new state law that students be shown the development of a fetus along with the process of fertilization and each stage of development in the uterus during every week of pregnancy.
The school will provide a written consent form that the parent must sign for the student. McDermott said that school districts across Indiana are approving similar measures to comply with the new law.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.