In short: The ballot question asks voters to approve an 8.5 cent increase in MCCSC’s current referendum rate of 18.5 cents.

• Even with this increase, MCCSC’s tax rate would remain among the lowest of Indiana public school rates.
• While officially 8.5 cents, the actual impact would be closer to 3.5 cents.
• Many families would realize several thousand dollars in annual benefits for an annual cost of about $50.

In detail: The November 7 ballot question seeks voters’ approval for raising MCCSC’s current referendum tax rate (18.5 cents per $100 assessed valuation) by 8.5 cents.

For a home with an assessed value of $250,000, an 8.5-cent increase in the referendum tax rate (which is currently 18.5 cents) translates to an approximate yearly increase of $50. For perspective, this is roughly the cost of three pizzas over the course of a year or one fountain soft drink per week.

While it is difficult to calculate this precisely, the actual impact of this rate increase will be closer to 3.5 cents. This is due to tax caps imposed by state legislation on levy funds and in consideration of property value growth in Monroe County.

Due to increasing assessed valuation (AV) and sound financial management, MCCSC has one of the lowest overall tax rates of any school district in Indiana. Currently, MCCSC is in the lowest 10% of all taxing rates for Indiana districts. The average total tax rate for a school district in Indiana is $1.058. By contrast, MCCSC’s current rate is 69.45 cents, or only about 70% of the average rate. If voters approve the Family-Centered & Community-Focused initiative in November, MCCSC’s tax rate will remain among the lowest in Indiana

Use our Family Savings Calculator to see an estimate of the referendum’s impact on your family finances.

Family Savings Calculator