Budget Information

• The referendum was a renewal for specific items that voters approved: certain teaching positions, non-athletic extracurricular activities, nurses, and school safety measures. 
• This renewal kept the funding originally supported by our commuity in 2011. Had it not passed, CPCSC would be looking at more significant cuts to programs.
• By law, referendum money must stay in its own fund and can only be spent on those voter-approved purposes. The referendum cannot be redirected to address losses in other budget areas. 
• Over the next seven years, the referendum fund will also suffer losses in the millions of dollars because the net assessed value of homes will go down. This is because of changes in Senate Enrolled Act 1. You can find more information in the budget presentation above.
• Our rate was set in December of 2024, before the legislative session began. We had no way of knowing that legislators’ decisions would undermine our community’s choice to support our schools.

Our rate was set in December of 2024, before the legislative session began. We had no way of knowing that legislators’ decisions would undermine our community’s choice to support our schools.

• No. Recent construction projects were funded through debt service, which is kind of like a mortgage for the district. By law, debt service cannot be spent on teacher salaries, supplies, or day-to-day operations. These are completely separate funding streams. 
• To reiterate, the budget challenges come from state legislation (SEA 1) which will drastically reduce property tax revenue for operations and the referendum fund.
• The recent capital improvements successfully addressed serious issues for the district including decades-old aging infrastructure, overcrowding in some buildings, a lack of accessible facilities for all students, and the need to redistrict for balanced enrollment.
• It's because of years of fiscal responsibility, including our district's high credit rating, that we could undertake the recent capital projects. That fiscal responsibility will continue.

• Decisions are being guided by the district's commitment to prioritize students while maintaining essential services. 
• This is a collaborative process involving building administrators, department leaders, and central office leadership. Teams are conducting comprehensive reviews of all programs, positions, and operations across the education and operations funds. Multiple factors are taken into consideration, but the most important are student well-being and achievement.
• CPCSC is taking a deliberate, phased approach with some reductions before the second semester in January 2026 and additional changes before the 2026-2027 school year.
• Where reductions will happen depends on the program/department or building, and there isn’t a simple answer.
  • We have to first consider the mandated requirements for staffing programs like exceptional education, Title I programs, etc. Graduation requirements are also considered. We also have to look at staffing required to keep operations running smoothly (transportation, food service, tech, custodial, etc).
  • Next we have to look at whether a service can be provided in a different manner or format. Can we change the efficiency of how we deliver this service? Can the service be redistributed? How many people are providing the same service?
  • Finally, how do we have the least amount of change regarding what we offer our students and how we support them? There will be changes, but can we limit how the changes impact students?
  • It's important to remember that roles without direct student contact can still have impact. It takes many jobs to make a district run, and that's why we have to look at positions in terms of requirements and efficiency, not only whether they are student-facing.

• CPCSC has already been proactive in addressing budget changes. We must act further in order to ensure long-term financial stability.
• Multiple positions throughout the district have not been backfilled since the school year began. Some of these positions were student-facing and some were operational support. Additional reductions or changes have been made in non-student-facing software and custodial substitutes.
• In the last year, we reduced our electricity usage by 11%. However, with the recent rise in NISPCO rates, this has had minimal impact.
• We maintain a continuous practice of evaluating all expenses, not only during periods of budget constraints. This ongoing approach includes using cooperative purchasing agreements, reviewing procurement processes, and conducting price comparisons for goods and services. Like many of you in your daily lives, school districts face increasing costs in the goods and services we purchase for our students.
• We are turning to more creative purchasing solutions. For example, it's likely that buses will no longer be purchased from the operations fund and will instead be financed via bonds. 
• As a reminder, 86% of our expenses in the education, operations, and referendum funds are spent on salaries and benefits. Even with significant cuts to non-staffing areas, we will not meet the level of cuts needed to sustain the district financially. The dollar bill below represents how much of our budget is invested and spent on our teachers and staff.

• 86% of our education, referendum, and operations funds are spent on staff and benefits. Even with cuts to supplies, technology, and more, we will have to cut spending through staff positions. The goal is to make thoughtful decisions that prioritize student needs while maintaining essential district operations.
• Central office leadership is working collaboratively with building principals and department leaders to review all programs and positions across the district. This process is ongoing. 
• Some reductions will take place for the second semester, starting in January 2026.
  • You can find more information about these reductions in our 11-6-25 parent message. 
  • Whenever possible, we hope these team members stay with CPCSC through other open positions that are not being reduced. We currently have more than 30 open positions not affected by the semester reductions.
• Changes to building schedules, restructuring our programs, and considering retirements/resignations will help determine decisions regarding certified classroom teachers in August 2026. 
  • If there is a need to reduce certified staff, we will follow the already established board policy regarding notifications of reductions in force. If any certified positions face reduction for August 2026, notifications would begin in May of 2026.
  • It is our hope that we can address certified staffing changes through re-assignments as much as possible. Re-assignment means placing certified staff into open positions created by retirements or resignations.

• Compensation decisions are still being determined as part of the overall budget planning process and collective bargaining process (teacher’s union contract). 
• The district remains committed to valuing our staff and maintaining competitive compensation, but these decisions must be made within the constraints of available funding. 
• Any compensation changes will be communicated through the normal collective bargaining and budget adoption processes. Notifications of these hearings are posted on the CPCSC website as required by law.

Exceptional Education (also called special education) services are determined according to a student's IEP, a legal document that outlines the support for each student's specific needs. There will be no changes in IEP services provided.

• Athletic coaching stipends are ECAs (extracurricular activities) and negotiated by CPEA and the district in the teacher contract. Other clubs/group stipends follow the same process.
• Facilities are constructed through the debt service fund (the capital projects discussed in the presentation above).
• All other athletic spending is paid for by ticket sales and other fundraising specifically conducted by the athletic department or their booster organizations.

• Administrative positions are part of the comprehensive review process, just like all other positions and programs across the district. 
• Administrative and other central office building roles typically deal with programming and reporting required by state or federal law, managing essential operations like payroll and technology, or directly overseeing the delivery of student services. All areas are being examined for efficiency and necessity.

• While Crown Point is experiencing residential growth, this doesn't solve the funding challenges. New homes are primarily replacing graduating students rather than creating enrollment growth. 
• More importantly, Senate Enrolled Act 1 will dramatically reduce the net assessed value of homes, both owner-occupied and rental (the taxable portion used to calculate property taxes). Even with new construction, the total net assessed value available for taxation will decrease, meaning less income for operations and referendum. 
• Additionally, CPCSC receives some of the lowest per-pupil funding from the state in Indiana (bottom 7%), and that formula hasn't kept pace with inflation or rising costs.
• While Crown Point has new residential development, enrollment growth is minimal. New students moving into the district are largely offset by students graduating. We are not experiencing the rate of growth that many community members assume.

• Some reductions must happen before the semester begins in January 2026, with additional and more significant changes before August 2026. Waiting would only make the situation worse.  It's important to remember that the district budget goes by calendar year, and not school year.
• This phased approach also provides more time to explore new solutions or alternatives to programming and scheduling before next school year.
• By acting proactively now, CPCSC can ensure long-term financial stability.

• We will continue to pursue all available areas of funding. 
• People are often surprised to learn that federal, state, and local grants combined make up less than 4% of our expenditures as a district.
• While grants help and are much appreciated, they come with limitations. Grants are very specific in what they fund and how they can be used. If grants are used to support salaries, then those positions become jeopardized if a grant is discontinued.
• Grants often target high-needs areas or topics. Geographically/economically, there are often grants we don’t qualify for.

• CPCSC is committed to timely, factual communication throughout this process. 
• Staff and families will be informed through multiple channels: regular updates via the district website and ParentSquare, direct communication from building principals about any changes affecting specific students, staff presentations, and public budget hearings as required by law. 
• Changes affecting specific programs will be communicated with families affected by those changes.
• We urge families to call or email if they have any questions. We've already seen misinformation shared online. 
  Rumors can spread quickly, which can unintentionally cause harm and contribute to misinformation. We are here to answer questions and want to remind families that social media chatter is not a source of official district information.

There are no changes to Title programming at this time. Title I is a federally funded program. Whether there are future changes because of new federal government policies remains to be determined.

• If you have questions regarding the 2026 budget, the form at the bottom of this page will be submitted to our administrative team.
• Write to your legislators. Tell them how reducing funding for schools impacts our students, staff, and our larger community.

• We think it’s important to be ahead of this conversation and not behind it. Our staff, parents, and community deserve to know what the long-term implications of SEA-1 will be.
• Senate Enrolled Act 1 will have significant financial implications for every public school district in the state, and they will ultimately need to address them in the future. Our approach is to provide transparent, timely communication about challenges that will impact our district. Regardless of district size or location, SEA-1 will result in substantial reductions to public school budgets over the coming years.
• As districts work to address these budget constraints, it is likely that many will pursue referendums for the first time, seek to increase their referendum rates upon renewal, or introduce additional referendums beyond those currently in place.
• Here are just a few articles about SEA-1 and other districts around the state to help provide some context:
  • NWI schools set to lose millions under property tax relief
  • School officials begin budgeting with less revenue, higher costs
  • Northeast Indiana school districts budget for property tax losses
  • Indiana's new property tax law squeezes Fort Wayne Community Schools' budget

Indiana Gateway is an online portal where government entities submit their annual budget information.