By Grayson Harbour
<[email protected]>

According to the Pew Research center, a non-partisan public research organization, education is ranked fifth in the public’s priorities for 2010. Ahead of education are the economy, jobs, terrorism, and social security in that order.

According to freshman Cameron Prill, that order is in need of rearrangement. “I believe that education is of the highest importance, most of the students, all of us, will one day be the working class America, and there are new jobs sprouting up all the time. A basic education is necessary for many jobs that hold importance in our society,” he said. “In my social circles, I have seen that students don’t like to simply settle for a basic education; many want to pursue branching career opportunities, like those that are introduced through electives, which are not necessarily considered by government financial advisors.”

Currently, the Carmel Clay school district is facing serious financial difficulties due to recent state and district cuts. The general budget for the school system is now reliant on sales tax alone, rather than pooling money derived from both sales and property tax. Because of the recession, the number of items purchased, which contributes to sales tax, has been scientifically decreased. This, in turn, means that because sales tax is now the only source for funds, funds for the general budget have considerably decreased.

The state proposed a 3.2 million dollar cut to the overall education budget in October of last year. However, in January, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels released the final 3.8 million dollar cut. The current referendum, in which voters voluntarily raised 2 million dollars for education through tax increases, expires at the beginning of next year. Additionally, the district accounts for a 2.6 million dollar deficit due to increasing costs of operation, if current standards of education were to persist.

Tricia Hackett, vice president of the school board, said, “Originally, $315,200 was cut from the general fund budget during the 2008-09 school year, $1.5 million in 2009, and $3 million is proposed this year. In 2008 no one realized the full impact of this recession. To continually reduce the district’s budget is one option, but certainly not ideal for the education and well-being of our youth.”

With a total of sum of 11.6 million dollars in total deficit, a referendum for 12 million dollars, granted annually over the next 12 years, will be placed on the ballot for voters in the May 4 elections.

Hackett also said, “If this referendum passes, many of the proposed reductions will not be necessary. Since 93% of our general fund is dedicated to salaries and benefits, teaching staff will be among the first items that will be addressed. Therefore, the referendum will help protect class size and teaching jobs.”

Sophomore Mark Ostermeyer said, “First of all, I believe education is extremely important, and it is not fair for the state to cut the budget. Also, I believe it is not fair for the state to award more money to some schools and less money to other schools. I believe there should be a set average based on money awarded per student.”

According to the CCS district website, the average homeowner increase in property taxes would be about 55 cents per day. The referendum informational Power Point, which can be found on the district website under “Referendum Information” reads, “Without this referendum, there will be a dramatic increase in class size, a catastrophic loss in programs and services for students, and a significant loss of jobs.”