Tag: state legislature

8.5-cent property tax increase for early childhood ed mulled by MCCSC board, public outreach on May 24

Monroe County Community School Corporation superintendent Jeff Hauswald (May 23, 2023)
Monroe County Community School Corporation board president Brandon Shurr (May 23, 2023)

No referendum to increase property taxes has yet been placed on the Nov. 7 ballot by the Monroe County Community School corporation board.

But at its Tuesday night meeting, the board voted unanimously to pass a resolution authorizing district superintendent Jeff Hauswald to  consult with Monroe County auditor Cathy Smith about the calculations that would go into increasing MCCSC’s property tax rate by 8.5 cents.

A press release issued immediately following the board’s meeting  says, “In the November 7th election, MCCSC expects to ask voters to approve the rate not to exceed $0.085 per $100 of assessed property value.”

The revenue generated by the additional tax would go towards early childhood education for 3-to-5-year-old children, as well as other initiatives to make education more accessible.

The other initiatives include free instructional technology, supplies, and consumables for all students. Also made free would be Advanced Placement (AP) exams and tests that are needed for workplace certificates. The additional revenue would also mean free career education, including tuition, testing, supplies, and associated fees.

To lay out details of the potential referendum and to get feedback from the public, MCCSC is hosting a meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday (May 24) at the MCCSC Co-Lab at 553 E. Miller Drive, which is the regular board meeting location. Continue reading “8.5-cent property tax increase for early childhood ed mulled by MCCSC board, public outreach on May 24” →

Transgender Day message: “You don’t have to let policy happen to you. You can happen to policy.”

Melanie Davis
Indiana’s Own Dana Black
Transgender Visibility Day Celebration, Monroe County courthouse lawn April 2, 2023
Nicole Bolden
April Hennessey
Shelli Yoder
Kirin Clawson

On Sunday afternoon, around 150 people gathered on the southeast corner of the Monroe County courthouse in downtown Bloomington, for a celebration of the Transgender Day of Visibility.

Melanie Davis, with the LGBTIQ+ Community Center of Bloomington, kicked off the  the event by telling the crowd “There’s a lot of scary stuff going on. We all know, we’ve all felt it.”

The “scary stuff” that Davis was talking about includes some legislation now pending in the state legislature.

When state senator Shelli Yoder took the mic she talked about two bills: HB 1608 (Education matters); and SB 480 (Gender transition procedures for minors). Continue reading “Transgender Day message: “You don’t have to let policy happen to you. You can happen to policy.”” →

Bloomington annexation remonstrance final raw tally: Automatic stop in play for six of seven areas, court review now possible for one

When the Jan. 6 deadline passed for submitting remonstrance petitions against Bloomington’s annexation ordinances, the Monroe County auditor’s office was able to provide only a preliminary raw tally of signatures.

That’s because several signatures were submitted on the final day.

Based on the now final but still raw tally, every area but one would have enough signatures to meet the 65-percent threshold that automatically blocks Bloomington’s annexation attempt.

That’s the same basic picture that was already known on the final day of remonstrance.

What’s different is the status of Area 1B, which by the auditor’s count at the time had not yet achieved even a lower threshold of 50-percent. That’s a benchmark that doesn’t stop the annexation but does ensure that a judge reviews a city’s annexation ordinance.

Adding in the final day’s count has bumped the total for Area 1B past the 50-percent threshold.

But it’s still short of the 65-percent mark. The area has 2,102 unique owners, of which 1,342 signed a remonstrance petition. That’s 63.8 percent. The 65-percent threshold would have required signatures from 25 more property owners. Continue reading “Bloomington annexation remonstrance final raw tally: Automatic stop in play for six of seven areas, court review now possible for one” →

Indiana GOP legislator: Decriminalizing syringe possession could be topic in 2020 session

Bloomington resident Jean Capler stood at the public podium in city hall last Saturday morning to ask: “Is there ever any talk about decriminalizing syringe possession?”

jean capler Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 11.54.46 AM
Jean Capler at the March 2, 2019 League of Women Voters legislative update held at Bloomington city hall. (screenshot from CATS broadcast)

The occasion for Capler’s question was the regular in-session monthly legislative update hosted by the local League of Women Voters. On hand to field questions from Capler and a group of about 30 other people were state Sen. Mark Stoops (D-40) and Rep. Matt Pierce (D-61). Continue reading “Indiana GOP legislator: Decriminalizing syringe possession could be topic in 2020 session” →