Superintendent Dr. Jeff Butts will conduct a series of public meetings to discuss the proposed $10 million tax referendum that will be on the May 7 primary election ballot.

The Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township Board of Education voted last week to approve a property tax referendum for the May 7 ballot. The referendum would generate an additional $10 million per year for eight years for the school district.

Butts will conduct the following meetings to discuss the State of Wayne Township

• Tuesday, Feb. 12 — Lakeview Church, 47 Beachway Drive
• Wednesday, Feb. 20 — Chapel Rock Christian Church, 2020 N. Girls School Road
• Monday, March 4 –Ben Davis Christian Church, 701 S. High School Road
• Wednesday, March 13 — Chapel Hill United Methodist, 963 N. Girls School Road

Butts will accept questions and open it for discussion after he presents his fiscal state of the township.

The monies would permit the district to close the gap in its educational fund brought on by state funding that has not kept pace with inflation. The added revenue would provide resources for MSD Wayne to continue enhancing student security, and allow the district to continue to replace the educational fund dollars currently spent on transportation and preventive maintenance.

The additional revenues will permit the district to avoid reducing academic programs critical to the successes demonstrated by its students each year. The referendum monies will also allow MSD Wayne to continue to recruit and retain the highly effective teachers and provide services that contribute to its students’ multiple successes. Those successes include more than $18 million used in college scholarships, 17,000 dual credits earned, and a district graduation rate of 91 percent.

If approved by voters, the median homeowner with a $91,000 home would pay an increase of $8/month and $4.33 per month for homeowners ages 65 and over who qualify for the deduction.

Under Indiana law, a school district seeking additional local property tax revenues must ask voters for approval. Wayne Township last asked for a referendum in 2015.