School Finance: Where Your Dollars Go

MCAS has taken significant steps to reduce costs before proposing the Referendum. MCAS has already:

• Reduced approximately $3 million in expenditures
• Eliminated or left positions vacant staffing adjustments
• Pursued grants and community partnerships
• Reviewed transportation efficiencies
• Continued evaluating building utilization

MCAS has reduced expenditures, sought grant funding, pursued operational efficiencies, utilized reserve funds responsibly, and worked to limit the need for future tax increases while maintaining essential services for students.

The school district uses only a portion of your local property taxes. Many homeowners are paying higher property taxes because of rapidly rising assessed values on their homes, not because of school district spending. 

The Referendum would provide local funding to support educators, student programs, transportation, safety, and daily operations. Every dollar will stay within MCAS and cannot be used outside of the district.

Divide your home’s net assessed value by 100 and multiply by the Referendum rate ($0.2998).

MCAS will also provide an online investment calculator to estimate the impact on your property. 

Investment Calculator

Indiana's property tax caps and SEA 1 have reduced local revenue available for school operations. Current estimates project that MCAS will receive approximately $2.56 million less over the next three years than previously anticipated.

Transportation is funded through the Operations Fund, which relies heavily on local property taxes. As operational costs increase and revenues decline, transportation services compete with other essential operational expenses for limited funding.

MCAS receives less state funding when enrollment declines. The district continuously reviews staffing, programming, and facilities to align resources with student enrollment while maintaining educational opportunities for our students.

MCAS has worked to address aging facilities and the necessary repairs, as well as the long-term maintenance needs, to ensure a safe and welcoming learning environment for our students, while saving taxpayers additional costs.

Because Indiana school funding is divided into categories (“buckets”), facility projects are funded through the Debt Service Fund and cannot legally be used for daily operations.

Grant Funds are another important source of school funding. These dollars support specific educational programs and services but must be spent in accordance with state and federal requirements and generally cannot be used for other purposes. Some examples include: 

• Title I (Federal)
• Special Education IDEA (Federal)
• Title IV (Federal)
• High Ability (State)

Grants are restricted funds that must be spent on specific purposes established by federal or state law. Most grants cannot be transferred to transportation, utilities, salaries, or other general operating expenses.

TIF districts capture growth in property tax revenue within designated development areas for approved projects. While TIF can temporarily affect how some local property tax growth is distributed, schools continue to receive property tax revenue and state funding under Indiana law.

Indiana ranks near the middle nationally in per-pupil spending. School districts continue to face rising costs for transportation, utilities, insurance, and staffing while balancing state and local funding limitations.