Residents torn on proposed referendums

GOSHEN, Ind., Goshen voters will soon have to decide if its public schools will get funding to make improvements and keep the operations going.

The Goshen Community School Corp. is looking for $65 million to create a new intermediate school building and make improvements to Goshen High School and Middle School.

Most of that money will be used to create a new building for grade 5 and 6.

$10 million will be used to create an addition at the high school to add a classroom and transitional space.

On May’s primary ballot, voters will be asked if property taxes should be raised to fund these projects.

The proposed increase is 37.9 cents per $100 of assessed home value. If your house is valued at $100,000 the tax would be raised $379.

A campaign called Committee for Fair Taxation has been created by Goshen residents Robert and Susan Schrameyer. The group is against the construction referendum.

Bob feels that referendums will make property taxes too high.

“The school corporation really hadn’t been forthcoming in explaining to the residents how much property taxes were really going to be going up with the two referendums,” said Bob Schrameyer.

A group in support of the referendum is called Friends of Goshen Community Schools.

Former Goshen mayor Allan Kaufman is supporting the referendum saying,

“If you’re a parent, you want to vote yes because you got kids in school. If you’re like me and your kids are grown and out of school, you need to pay it forward. People older than us paid for our education in Goshen. And even if you don’t have kids in school anymore, you’re responsible for the educational system here.”

There will be a second question on the ballot that would fund operational expenses.

The question is asking whether property taxes should be raised 26 cents per $100 of assessed value.

That money would be used to keep things going at the schools, including controlling class sizes and teachers’ raises.

The school corporation does not believe it will make it without additional funding help from tax payers.