Noblesville, Indiana school referendum FAQs

An operating referendum on the Tuesday, November 3, 2026 ballot for everyone who lives inside the Noblesville Schools boundary. It replaces the 2018 operating referendum, which expires at the end of 2026, and would authorize a property-tax rate of up to 57¢ per $100 of assessed value for eight years, through 2034. The district says it would raise roughly $25 million a year, about 20% of its operating budget.

Not at the same price. Today's rate is 37¢. The ballot authorizes a maximum of 57¢ — about 54% higher: (57 − 37) ÷ 37 = 54%. A true renewal would keep the rate where it is.

It depends on your home's assessed value. On a $350,000 primary residence, the rate going from 37¢ to 57¢ costs about $19.43 a month — roughly $233 a year — once the full rate is reached. The ballot itself, as Indiana law requires, estimates a $955-a-year increase for a median $350,000 home compared with having no referendum. Use the calculator with your own assessed value from the Hamilton County Auditor.

It's described as the average annual increase over all eight years, but it isn't an average: it's the district calculator's final-year increase divided by eight. Averaged across the same calculator's eight years, the increase is $8.19 a month, reaching $15.05 a month by 2034. It also folds in a separate state tax cut (SEA 1) that arrives whether or not the referendum passes. The arithmetic, line by line.

The August 18, 2026 board resolution is real, and it's worth crediting. But it sets only 2027 (38.5¢) and then caps each later year's increase at 4¢ — not the destination. On that schedule the rate can reach the full 57¢ by 2032. A future board can rescind a resolution; the ballot, once approved, is what's binding for eight years.

Possibly not by much — and we'd rather say so. The 2025 state law SEA 1 is phasing in larger homestead deductions every year, whether or not this passes, so some homeowners' total bills may hold roughly flat. But the referendum still costs about $19 a month on a $350,000 home at the full rate. The real question is whether the state's tax cut stays with your household or goes to the district.

Noblesville is asking for the highest rate of the four districts on the same ballot: Noblesville 57¢, Carmel Clay 42.74¢, Westfield Washington 39.41¢, Hamilton Southeastern 36¢.

The 2018 referendum expires at the end of 2026 and the district says it would have to make budget reductions. A NO vote also lets the school board return to voters with a revised question — for example, a lower rate or a shorter term — sized to what it actually needs rather than the maximum.

No. Noblesville has good schools and good teachers, and a state law put every district in the county under pressure. Our objection is to the size and length of this particular tax increase and to calling it a “continuation.”

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026; polls are open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The voter registration deadline is Monday, October 5. Early in-person voting runs October 6 through noon November 2 — in Noblesville at the Hamilton County Judicial Center (One Hamilton County Square) and the Hamilton County Fairgrounds (2003 Pleasant Street). Bring a government-issued photo ID. Check your registration and sample ballot at indianavoters.in.gov. The referendum is a public question near the end of the ballot — don't stop after the candidate races.

No — and it isn't even their current number. The MillerYes FAQ says twice that the district estimates “about $2.30 per month over the eight-year referendum period.” The MillerYes home page says $1.88. The district dropped $2.30 on August 12, 2026, when it cut its planned 2027 rate from 41¢ to 38.5¢. Neither figure is an eight-year average: the district's $1.88 is its calculator's final-year increase divided by eight. Averaged across the same calculator's eight years it's $8.19 a month, and the full 57¢ rate costs about $19.43 a month on a $350,000 home. The arithmetic.

The programs may be the same; the price isn't. The rate goes from 37¢ to a maximum of 57¢, and the ballot authorizes up to $43,842,578 a year — roughly 75% more than the ~$25 million MillerYes says the referendum provides. If the goal is only to sustain today's programs, the ballot asks for far more room than that requires. Why the ceiling matters.

A ceiling is exactly what voters are approving. The plan lives on a webpage and in a board resolution; the ceiling lives on the ballot. The August 18, 2026 resolution fixes only 2027 at 38.5¢ and then limits each later year's increase to 4¢ — which reaches 57¢ by 2032. A future board can change a resolution. Only voters can change the ballot, and after November 3 they can't until 2034. The resolution, read closely.

The current referendum expires in December 2026 no matter how you vote. So the real comparison is this referendum versus no referendum, and that's the comparison Indiana law requires the ballot to print: about $955 a year more for a median $350,000 home. MillerYes also counts the SEA 1 state tax credit as a reason the cost is small — but that credit arrives whether or not this passes. The question is whether it stays with your household. What each number measures.

That's accurate, but it doesn't mean Noblesville is shortchanged. Indiana's formula adds money for districts with more low-income students, so every well-off district ranks near the bottom. In 2025 Noblesville actually received more state money per student than its neighbors: $7,460, versus Westfield $7,250, Carmel $7,211 and Hamilton Southeastern $7,036 (Indiana GPS). Hamilton Southeastern ranks in the bottom 2% (WFYI) and is asking its voters for 36¢, not 57¢. Full table.

Indiana's property-tax caps — 1% of assessed value for homes, 2% for farms and rentals, 3% for business — are in the state constitution to protect taxpayers (Indiana DLGF). Money not collected because of the caps stayed with Noblesville families, as voters intended. Calling it “lost” assumes the schools were owed it.

Every budget request comes with an “or else.” A NO vote doesn't end referendum funding forever — the district can return to voters with a smaller rate or a shorter term. And the district's own story on enrollment has shifted: in February 2026 it cited “a large decline in student enrollment” when cutting staff; in August it pointed to a study projecting “stable enrollment over the next decade” while asking for eight years. If nobody knows what 2034 looks like, that's an argument for a shorter term, not the longest one. Sources.

Yes: Noblesville voters approved operating referendums in 2010, 2016 and 2018 (sources). We don't dispute it. Approving past referendums at 37¢ isn't an argument for approving this one at up to 57¢.