Community Engagement

Overall Goal of the Community Engagement Sessions: To keep our community informed about the impact of recent legislation for Brownsburg Community School Corporation, to clearly and transparently explain how school finances work and how these changes affect our ability to serve students, and to strengthen our sense of shared responsibility. ​ 

Our goal is not only to provide information, but to build understanding, trust, and a unified voice as we advocate together for Brownsburg Community School Corporation.  

(most recent meeting at the top)

Community Engagement Session #4 - April 8, 2026
Key Points: 

• Per a recent Ball State University study, BCSC is near the top in the state in a “value-add” to our local economy based on educational outcomes and predicted impact on the local tax base and the local economy.  Link to study:  https://www.bsu.edu/news/press-center/archives/2026/03/new-cber-research-offers-a-clearer-way-to-compare-indiana-school-outcomes

• Cuts in various departments and areas of the corporation have already begun. As of today, 49 total positions have been eliminated, some already and some for next school year. Budget cuts totaling over $3,000,000 that will impact the 2026-27 school year were shared in the following areas: 

  • Facilities – staffing 

  • Facilities – non-staffing

  • Administration 

  • Support Staff 

  • Certified Staff 

  • Transportation 
     

• Values that Drive BCSC Decisions 

  • Access and Opportunity for Every Student 

    • High Quality, Developmentally Appropriate Instruction 

    • A Wide Variety of Learning Opportunities 
       

  • Strong Relationships and Belonging for Every Student 

    • Schools where students feel supported, known, and valued

    • Schools where intentional opportunities are provided for students to collaborate, contribute, and support one another 
       

  • Community Trust and Transparency 

    • Responsible Stewardship of Resources 

    • Collaboration and Shared Responsibility 
       

• Future cuts will have significant impact on our ability to stay consistent with our values. Attendees were given the opportunity to hear and discuss what some of these future cuts in 2027-2028 could be.  

Community Engagement Session #3 - March 18, 2026 
Key Points:

• Your advocacy was noticed and important from our first two sessions. Since the legislative session is now over, we want to shift our focus to advocacy at the local level in support of BCSC.
   
• Local Government, Schools, and Property Taxes
  • Overview of the Tax-base composition of BCSC
  • Community comparisons and why each community is unique
  • How TIF plays a role in the revenues of a community
     
• BCSC Tax and Revenue Strategies in a Fast-Growing District
  • Find ways to accommodate growth while decreasing tax rate
  • Generate cost-saving opportunities in the Operations Fund using Debt Service
  • Approved future projects to protect BCSC’s ability to accommodate continued growth and maintain its facility plan
     
• Recent Legislative Impacts on Your Tax Bill
  • Overview of a median homeowner tax bill
  • Impact of SEA 1 on homeowners’ vs impact on BCSC
     

Community Engagement Session #2 - February 25, 2026 

Key Points:  

• BCSC holds key values that drive our decision-making. Our goal is that our financial decisions align with these values. 

  • Access and opportunity for every student 

  • Strong relationships and belonging for every student 

  • Community trust and transparency 

• What does it take to operate a school district our size (deeper dive into school finance)? 

  • Education Fund (Ed Fund) 

    • Funded by state aid based on enrollment and other specifically identified factors (Socioeconomics, special education, ELL, Academic Performance, CTE)

    •  95% of all Ed Fund expenditures are on people.

    • Due to changes in funding “buckets”, BCSC must transfer more money from Ed to Ops 
       

  • Operations Fund (Ops Fund) 

    • Funding driven by local property taxes, the Ed to Ops transfer, reimbursements, and miscellaneous revenue.  

    • People make up 55% of Ops Fund spending. Spending on tough-to-control expenses like utilities and insurance has increased dramatically in recent years.  
       

• How does BCSC compare to other school districts? 

  • BCSC collects significantly less revenue per student compared to similar school districts (more details in PowerPoint, BCSC has no referendum and high residential, for example) 

  • Along with lower revenues, BCSC spends significantly less per student compared to similar school districts.  

  • Despite lower revenues and expenditures, BCSC consistently outperforms these districts in important state performance metrics.  
     

Community Engagement Session #1 - February 4, 2026 

Key Points:  

• Recent legislation, HB 1454 (2023) and SEA 1 (2025) have negatively impacted Brownsburg Community School Corporation. 

  • HB 1454 removed our ability to implement the Protected Taxes Waiver, removed approximately $3.5 million per year in revenue from the Operations Fund with no relief to homeowners on their property tax bill 

  • SEA 1 the Home Credit will remove revenue from all local taxing units, for BCSC this is over $2 million per year in lost revenue from the Operations Fund |
     

• Based on these negative impacts, BCSC will need to cut $7,900,000 over the next 3 school years. 
   

• BCSC is working with state legislators to find solutions that will not result in increased property taxes.   

  • Representative Cash and Senators Clark and Buchanan were sympathetic to our concerns and were interested in ways they could support us.   

  • When we shared the impact of HB 1454 with Representative Thompson and how reversing it would not increase property taxes for anyone but would really help districts like ours, he said it was not something that he would be interested in changing.  
     

• Construction expenses in BCSC have not played a part in the loss of revenue within our operating budget.  
   

• Brownsburg Schools does not want to ask the community to support a referendum in 2026.  There are things that can happen through legislation at the Statehouse and within the local community that would allow us to not have to ask for a referendum in 2026. A referendum has the potential to be incredibly divisive for a community, and that is not something we want to do. A referendum, to us, is an absolute last resort and something we want to avoid. 
   

• This session provided an overview of Indiana School Finance.  Upcoming Community Engagement Sessions will dig deeper into the different funds and how they are used.  

#4 - April 8, 2026

#3 - March 18, 2026

#2 - February 25, 2026

#1 - February 4, 2026