I don't know how I will vote on the May 6 Referendum that would increase property taxes for the benefit of the Decatur School District (MSD Decatur Township).
I do, however, know that I resent having to make this decision.
How did we get to this point?
Why, of course, through unrestrained, extravagant, spending by former Superintendent Don Stinson, his #1 guy, Jeff Baer, and the Decatur School Board - primarily former member Don Huffman and current members Larry Taylor, Judy Collins, Cathy Wiseman, and Dale Henson.
Most folks are aware of are all the new school facilities. What most do not realize is that in 2002 a respected accounting firm,
Umbaugh and Associates, analyzed the ability of the community to handle various debt loads. That year the total debt stood at $25.5 Million. They concluded that by 2010, Decatur Schools could grow the debt to $80.9 Million and the community would be in a good position to afford the taxes. Instead, our 'trusted' leaders sank us in $266.7 Million in debt by 2009. This is a crushing debt load - one we continue to pay dearly for to this day. It is also the primary cause of any need for passage of the upcoming Referendum.
To pay for all the School Building projects, we were told our property taxes would rise the equivalent of a weekly meal at McDonalds. Instead, our taxes more than doubled. Thank goodness for the property tax caps that protected us from the full brunt of our wayward School Board.
Not content with all that rubber stamped, irresponsible spending, the School Board also went on a
property buying spree. They bought the old Concentra Building (Southwest Pavilion) across Kentucky Avenue from the High School and hundreds of acres of land for which there was no immediate need. In most instances, they did not get the two appraisals required by State Law in order to protect the taxpayers from malfeasance. In one case they got a single appraisal and then paid 40% more for the property - another clear violation of State Law.
But, they didn't care. Somehow the taxpayers were just the chumps at the other end of the debt.
The
District took out a short term loan, usually paid back once tax money is distributed by the State. But, they didn't pay the loan back when they got the tax proceeds. Instead, they spent the tax money and only paid interest on the loan. That was until the stuff hit the fan and they could no longer stay on that course. So, they floated new debt to pay off the short term loans.
Still not content, they raised Administrator salaries with abandon. Most Administrators saw their salaries double, the Superintendent saw his more than triple. This caused the escalation of Administrator salaries in Marion County and Central Indiana - as the Superintendents manipulated their Boards and the situation to grow their salaries over that puny District in Decatur Township. Every grossly exaggerated salary at the administrator level directly impacts how many teachers can be hired and thereby class size.
By 2009,
Central Office expenses had ballooned to over 10% of all General Fund expenses - far outstripping other Marion County Districts.
Hyperinflated salaries weren't enough, either.
Golden parachutes, above and beyond the tidy nest eggs the District already paid for, were devised for 5 'retiring' Administrators. The total added up to nearly a Million Dollars. Even today, they also either receive free health insurance or its cash equivalent until they and their spouses reach the age of 65 and qualify for Medicare. The cash equivalent this year is over $19,000 per family. Money that could be used better, for sure.
In the case of the loans and golden parachutes, Superintendent Stinson acted unilaterally - meaning without the approval of the Board. Both times, when the actions were aired in public, the Board retroactively approved his actions.
I could add to this the hiring of relatives, catered meals before each Board meeting, and other small extravagances engaged in by the Board. I could go on about the redistricting, causing the need to transport children to the opposite ends of the Township instead of to their closest elementary school, driven by the fact that poor school performance threatened the receipt of federal funds linked to 'No Child Left Behind'.
Since its peak, debt has been going down and, of all the excess property, at least the Concentra Building (Southwest Pavilion) has been sold. Current debt load is just shy of $140 Million. Still, this leaves our community with the highest tax rate for School debt of any District in Marion County, and much larger than our nearest neighbors in Hendricks and Morgan Counties.
Looking at abutting School Districts, the school debt tax rate for 2014 is (dollars per $100 assessed value):
Decatur 1.4766 (1.7752 if referendum to increase by 0.2986 had been approved for this year)
Wayne 1.3787
Perry 0.5048 (0.6287 if you include tax approved by referendum)
Mooresville 0.3411
Plainfield 0.6862
Other tax rates for school debt in
Marion County for 2014 are:
Franklin 1.1289
Lawrence 0.3040
Pike 0.2700 (0.2893 if you include tax approved by referendum)
Warren 0.8858
Washington 0.1725
Beech Grove 1.4243 (1.7743 if you include tax approved by referendum)
IPS 0.4297 (0.5087 if you include tax approved by referendum)
Speedway 0.0856
That's how we got to this point, where now the community must weigh the pros and cons of approving an additional property tax through a referendum. Is it throwing good money after bad, or will it mend what the School Board broke?
A friend recently asked me how much the School Board members make. I don't know the current amounts, but they generally get about $2000 per year plus a some amount for each meeting they attend - perhaps amounting to $5000 per year each. My friend suggested that the least the Board could do is forsake any compensation for as long as they remain Board Members. That makes a lot of sense to me.
I'd also like to see each of the four active Board members who are responsible for our financial mess, Taylor, Collins, Wiseman, and Henson, stand up in a public meeting and apologize for putting us in these straits. How else can we be sure they will not just spend the new money with the same lack of fiscal responsibility they spent all the other money we taxpayers have sent their way.
The least they can do is have the common decency to not run for election again.
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