Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.When students in Decatur Township head back to class this August, they’ll start and end their days at new times. The changes, which come with benefits for students and staff such as more sleep for middle school students and time for teacher professional development, are also in part, due to financial pressures schools face. Changing start and end times means going from six different schedules to three, allowing for fewer bus routes and more savings to the district. School leaders said they are still implementing changes, but expect “impactful savings” to the district’s roughly $6.7 million transportation budget for this calendar year.The priority is always how to best support students, said Scott Collins, superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township. Additional benefits to the time changes are for high schoolers to end their day earlier and to align schedules for grade levels.Yet, Collins also acknowledged that the money aspect can’t be untangled from those decisions.Decatur Township schools are not alone in responding to less property tax funding due to changes at the state level and wanting to show fiscal responsibility to voters ahead of a potential tax increase, known as a referendum, vote in November.School leaders in Decatur anticipate $3 million less in property taxes this year due to property tax reform. And additional state changes also mean the district is considering putting a tax measure on the ballot a year earlier than planned.“We’re trying to save dollars now so we don’t have to ask for as much money in the future,” Collins said. “We want to be good stewards.”And a big part of that for Decatur is busing – a key service that more than 70% of students in the district use daily during the school year. Plus, more than 1,100 of the district’s roughly 6,500 students use the bus each week for after-school activities like athletics, band, and clubs, Collins said. He added that buses are crucial for Decatur schools due to limited access to public transportation and limited ability to have walk zones for students. Currently, the district uses a portion of its referendum dollars to pay for transportation costs, including salary and benefits for bus drivers, monitors, and mechanics. Without referendum funds, Collins said the district would have to consider additional busing changes such as walk zones and cutting after-school buses.The district is considering a tax measure rate of roughly 27 cents per $100 of assessed value that would replace the current rate of roughly 29 cents starting in January if approved by voters. In order to be on the ballot in November, the school board must approve and send the ballot question to the state Department of Local Government Finance no later than July 22.MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.
