The Plan

The West Lafayette School Board voted unanimously to approve a single-question ballot for a November 7 referendum that would renew the current levy at the same tax rate, and continue to provide big benefits for students and the community.

A levy that supports teaching and supports learning

Question 1 on the November 7 ballot will ask voters to consider renewing the existing operating tax levy of $0.37 per $100 of property value that was approved by 94% of voters in 2017. This levy would be used to retain and attract teachers and staff, fund academic programming, and provide needed operating expenditures.

How will the money be spent?

Supporting Teaching
$4.5 Million
Teacher and staff compensation for managing class sizes and academic programming

• Salaries and benefits of teaching staff
• Allow the corporation to offer competitive salaries and benefits compared to other school districts
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Supporting Learning
$2.5 Million
Operation Fund expenditures for maintenance personnel and student transportation

• Salaries and benefits of transportation and maintenance/custodial staff
• Expenditures for transportation-related contracted services including the maintenance of buses

We Are NEW

New Leadership
Superintendent and top administrators.

New Possibilities
A community-focused, open, transparent approach to governing schools.

What if the referendum is not approved?

If the referendum is not approved, the district could place a question on the November 2024 ballot to renew the referendum as the current authorization does not expire until the end of next year. Or the district could choose to reduce its budget by $7 million, the equivalent of more than 70 staff positions.  At this time, no decisions have been made by the school board about specific budget adjustments.

Why run the referendum a year before it expires?

Next year is a general election. Candidates will be running for president, congress, the state house, and more. As we all know, the race for president has already begun! We’ll be seeing campaign advertising and lawn signs, and our local, regional and national media will be filled with information about these races. The ability to educate voters about a ballot question in one small district in Indiana will be challenging at best. We chose to run the referendum a year early so we didn’t have to compete with the many candidate messages in a busy general election year.