ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) — Northwest Allen County Schools (NACS) held its last school board meeting and presentation before residents vote on their potential operating referendum next week.
Opposing sides discuss NACS referendum as November vote looms
The presentation included a timeline, what people can expect on the ballot, what the money is going to, why they need it, and more. NACS encouraged people to vote based on their own values, and does not want this to be divisive.
“I want people to understand what we need the operating referendum for,” NACS Superintendent Wayne Barker said. “It starts first of all with us being underfunded by $8 million annually, and for us to try to continue to ‘make do’, we can’t continue to ‘make do’ without making cuts. We just can’t do it. The impact of the coming Senate Enrolled Act One doesn’t enable us to do that. So, we’re trying to meet the expectations that our parents and families have of us, but to do it, we just need more revenue, and we can’t make up that gap any other way.”
Barker says this is about “taking care of the people who take care of our students”, as more than half of the amount they intend to take is to retain people who already work there…