The proposal would replace a referendum scheduled to expire next December. Wayne Township is seeking a maximum rate of 70 cents per $100 of assessed property value, up from the current 35 cents. The district says it expects to need a rate of about 60 cents next year, though the approved rate could be lower than the 70-cent cap in some years. At 60 cents, officials estimate the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would pay about $200 more next year. Individual bills vary, and deductions may apply.

The request comes after the district says it has already cut about $10 million from its budget, including eliminating more than 100 positions through attrition and forgoing teacher raises. Superintendent Shenia Suggs said the additional reductions required without a referendum would affect services across the district. “We just want to be able to pay the bills,” she said.

Local property taxes provide slightly more than $4 million a year for the district’s operating costs, officials said. Electricity alone cost about $3.3 million last year, while natural gas cost another $700,000. Operating funds also support services such as transportation, school safety and classroom technology. Indiana’s property-tax limits affect school districts differently depending in part on the mix of residential, commercial and agricultural property in their boundaries.

Potential cuts could reach classrooms and student programs. District leaders say preschool, the HOSTS reading program and Ben Davis University could be discontinued. The district also ended after-school study tables as it reduced evening activity bus service; a Wayne Township Education Foundation grant allowed the study tables to return in a limited form.

Caitlin Crouch, an English teacher at Ben Davis High School and a graduate of the school, has taught in the district for 11 years. Her classes typically have 25 to 30 students, and she worries that larger groups would make it harder to connect with students individually. Crouch also said she has watched talented colleagues leave for other jobs, with some leaving teaching altogether.

The school board is considering a salary package tied to the referendum. If voters approve it, teachers would receive raises; if it fails, they would receive a one-time stipend. The referendum would run for eight years, requiring the district to return to voters in 2034 to continue collecting at the same rate.

A change in state law limits school districts to seeking referendums during even-numbered general election years, prompting Wayne Township to ask voters now rather than wait for its current measure to expire. The district says it will review the rate annually and collect only what it needs. It has an online calculator to help property owners estimate how the proposal could affect their tax bills.