Jan. 8—Assessed values were up across the board for school districts last in 2022.

That meant more property tax revenue for schools in 2023.

However, 2024 is more of a mixed bag. Some schools' assessed values (AV) increased last year, others dropped.

And there's of course property tax caps, which limits how much schools can collect in taxes.

An AV drop limits how much a school has in its operations fund. This can cause a squeeze, especially with rising prices on things like fuel and cleaning supplies.

Additionally, the ebb and flow of school enrollment, new teacher contracts and legislation, all have an impact on school budgets and how school corporations spend money.

The Tribune, through interviews and public meetings, caught up with each Howard County school about budget impacts for the 2024 year.

Eastern Howard School Corporation

Eastern will begin payments on its $20 million field house in 2024.

The project was completed last spring and financed through what's called debt replacement, the practice of taking on new debt when old debt is paid off. This keeps a stable tax rate and allows schools to take on big projects.

Schools often don't start paying on this debt right away.

Revenue collected through property taxes are what schools use to make debt payments. These payments come out of a school's debt service fund. A school can only collect enough revenue through its debt service fund for what is needed to cover a year's worth of debt payments.

Eastern, like every school in the Tribune's coverage area, ratified a new teachers contract. Teachers will get raises this year and next, meaning more money is penciled into the budget for these raises.

This can be a strain for some schools, particularly those that experience a drop in students. Enrollment numbers dictate how much money schools get for classroom expenditures, mainly teacher salaries.

Eastern experienced a drop in students in the fall, following record enrollment in 2022. It's not expected to cause too much of a problem, though.

"We're fortunate, partially because of the cash balance we have, that helps a little bit," said Travis Hueston, Eastern's business manager.

Uncertainty due to a new free textbook law also posed some challenges in crafting budgets.

In short, the state allocated money for free textbooks for every student, but the amount does not cover the entire cost. Schools have to make up the difference, which is an unexpected expense worth, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Schools also cannot charge students for certain classroom materials. This news came down from the state after some schools, including Eastern, had purchased materials that were intended to be paid for by students.

"There's still so much up in the air about it," Hueston said. "I'm not sure that anybody knew what to do based on what we knew when we were doing the budget."

Most schools opted to eat the shortfall this year, lest it impact paying teachers or other expenditures. There are concerns among educators the practice is not sustainable year over year.

Kokomo School Corporation

Kokomo School Corporation is the only school district in the Tribune coverage area to report an increase in students from 2022.

Student count was up 180 students in fall 2023, compared to fall 2022. The unexpected increase — Kokomo Superintendent Mike Sargent said it was not in the trend data — will net the school more money.

The per-student amount the state gives to schools increased by $459 for the 2023-24 school year. It'll increase by another $99 for 2024-25.

That will help the district afford raises for teachers. The Kokomo School Board ratified a two-year deal in the fall that includes $4,000 raises for the current school year.

Director of Business Affairs Robert McIntire said in September that assessed values in the Kokomo school district are down and closer to 2022 levels.

Assessed value determines property taxes. If AVs drop, taxing entities receive less in property taxes.

McIntire said due to property tax caps Kokomo schools will miss out on at least $6 million in property tax revenue.

Northwestern School Corporation

The state was expected to send money to schools for free textbooks sometime in late 2023.

Those payments still haven't come for any school. Educators aren't sure when to expect those checks.

"We're still waiting just like everybody else about what's coming for the state," said Camden Parkhurst, director of finance for Northwestern School Corporation.

Whereas assessed value was up across the board for Howard County school districts last year, this year is a mixed bag. Northwestern is one of the districts where assessed value is down.

Parkhurst said Northwestern's drop in AV is due to equipment being removed from the Kokomo Engine Plant, which is within the school district. The removal of equipment impacts the amount of taxes Stellantis pays and in turn, how much revenue Northwestern receives.

"We did not see that drop coming," Parkhurst said.

Property taxes cover debt payments for schools as well as operational expenses, like fuel for buses, cleaning supplies and minor improvement projects.

"That is going to be an impact going forward," Parkhurst said. "You see it when you go to the store. It's no different for us."

However, Northwestern's $51-million school improvement plan, will offset some operation costs. The project, set to begin this month, will see site improvements at every school.

Taylor Community Schools

Assessed value within the Taylor Community Schools district is up 2%.

"An increase in AV is good, we had been seeing 3.5 and 4, the last couple years," said Renae Adams, Taylor's business manager.

That means a little more in property taxes for the school corporation, though AV increases are starting to level out, Adams added.

Taylor's education fund budget has increased due to the Titan Virtual Academy, an online school started this school year.

Students take classes through Indiana Online and are enrolled through Taylor. The school district pays Indiana Online $215 for each class a virtual student takes.

Adams also earmarked about $150,000 to cover Taylor's expected shortfall due to the new free textbook law.

Taylor will start paying on its fieldhouse, which was built in 2018. Payments come out of the debt service fund.

Western School Corporation

Western School Corporation is considering best uses of a $13.2 million bond the school district intends to take out this year.

Updating aging infrastructure will be the focus of the project and is likely to include repairing roofs of school buildings. The determination was made after a feasibility study highlighted a need for various fixes throughout the buildings.

Kyle Zahn, director of finance, said school officials are determining what fixes will be afforded through the bond and what can be afforded through the operations fund.

Assessed value is also down.

Zahn said there is concern in future years, due to the next free textbook law as well as rising costs, including gas, insurance and maintenance.

"The loss of textbook/curriculum resource funding is having a definite and negative impact on our budget," Zahn said in an email. "We were able to absorb the loss this year, but if the state does not increase the amount they are providing we will have to make some hard decisions in the years to come."

It's a sentiment that many school administrators share.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.