(a)Subject to this chapter, the governing body
of a school corporation may adopt a resolution to place a referendum
under this chapter on the ballot if the governing body of the school
corporation determines that a referendum levy should be imposed for
measures to improve school safety as described in IC 20-40-20-6(a) or
IC 20-40-20-6(b).
(b)Except as provided in section 22 of this chapter, a school
corporation may, with the approval of the majority of members of the
governing body, distribute a portion of the proceeds of a tax levy
collected under this chapter that is deposited in the fund to a charter
school, excluding a virtual charter school, that is located within the
attendance area of the school corporation, to be used by the charter
school for the purposes described in IC 20-40-2
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(a) Subject to this chapter, the governing body
of a school corporation may adopt a resolution to place a referendum
under this chapter on the ballot if the governing body of the school
corporation determines that a referendum levy should be imposed for
measures to improve school safety as described in IC 20-40-20-6(a) or
IC 20-40-20-6(b).
(b) Except as provided in section 22 of this chapter, a school
corporation may, with the approval of the majority of members of the
governing body, distribute a portion of the proceeds of a tax levy
collected under this chapter that is deposited in the fund to a charter
school, excluding a virtual charter school, that is located within the
attendance area of the school corporation, to be used by the charter
school for the purposes described in IC 20-40-20-6(a).
(c) This subsection applies to a resolution described in subsection
(a) that is adopted after May 10, 2023, in a county described in section
22(a) of this chapter. A resolution shall specify that a portion of the
proceeds of the proposed levy will be distributed to applicable charter
schools in the manner described under section 22 of this chapter if the
charter school voluntarily elects to participate in the referendum in the
manner described in subsection (i).
(d) This subsection applies to a resolution described in subsection
(a) that is adopted after May 10, 2023, in a county described in section
22(a) of this chapter. The resolution described in subsection (a) shall
include a projection of the amount that the school corporation expects
to be distributed to a particular charter school, excluding virtual charter
schools or adult high schools, under section 22 of this chapter that
elects to participate in the referendum under subsection (i). At least
sixty (60) days before the resolution described in subsection (a) is
voted on by the governing body, the school corporation shall contact
the department to determine the number of students in kindergarten
through grade 12 who have legal settlement in the school corporation
but attend a charter school, excluding virtual charter schools or adult
high schools, and who receive not more than fifty percent (50%) virtual
instruction. The department shall provide the school corporation with
the number of students with legal settlement in the school corporation
who attend a charter school, which shall be disaggregated for each
particular charter school, excluding a virtual charter school or adult
high school. The projection may include an expected increase in
charter schools during the term the levy is imposed. The department of
local government finance shall prescribe the manner in which the
projection shall be calculated. The governing body shall take into
consideration the projection when adopting the revenue spending plan
under subsection (g).
(e) The governing body of the school corporation shall certify a
copy of the resolution to the following:
(1) The department of local government finance, including:
(A) the language for the question required by section 9 of this
chapter, or in the case of a resolution to extend a referendum
levy certified to the department of local government finance,
section 10 of this chapter; and
(B) a copy of the revenue spending plan adopted under
subsection (g).
The department of local government finance shall post the values
certified by the county auditor to the department's website. The
department shall review the language for compliance with section
9 or 10 of this chapter, whichever is applicable, and either
approve or reject the language. The department shall send its
decision to the governing body of the school corporation not more
than ten (10) days after the resolution is submitted to the
department. If the language is approved, the governing body of
the school corporation shall certify a copy of the resolution,
including the language for the question and the department's
approval.
(2) The county fiscal body of each county in which the school
corporation is located (for informational purposes only).
(3) The circuit court clerk of each county in which the school
corporation is located.
(f) Except as provided in section 22 of this chapter, the resolution
described in subsection (a) must indicate whether proceeds in the
school corporation's fund collected from a tax levy under this chapter
will be used to provide a distribution to a charter school or charter
schools, excluding a virtual charter school, under IC 20-40-20-6(b) as
well as the amount that will be distributed to the particular charter
school or charter schools. A school corporation may request from the
designated charter school or charter schools any financial
documentation necessary to demonstrate the financial need of the
charter school or charter schools.
(g) As part of the resolution described in subsection (a), the
governing body of the school corporation shall adopt a revenue
spending plan for the proposed referendum tax levy that includes:
(1) an estimate of the amount of annual revenue expected to be
collected if a levy is imposed under this chapter;
(2) the specific purposes described in IC 20-40-20-6 for which the
revenue collected from a levy imposed under this chapter will be
used;
(3) an estimate of the annual dollar amounts that will be expended
for each purpose described in subdivision (2); and
(4) for a resolution for a referendum that is adopted after May 10,
2023, for a county described in section 22(a) of this chapter, the
projected revenue that shall be distributed to charter schools as
provided in subsection (d). The revenue spending plan shall also
take into consideration deviations in the proposed revenue
spending plan if the actual charter school distributions exceed or
are lower than the projected charter school distributions described
in subsection (d). The resolution shall include for each charter
school that elects to participate under subsection (i) information
described in subdivisions (1) through (3).
(h) A school corporation shall specify in its proposed budget the
school corporation's revenue spending plan adopted under subsection
(g) and annually present the revenue spending plan at its public hearing
on the proposed budget under IC 6-1.1-17-3.
(i) This subsection applies to a resolution described in subsection
(a) for a county described in section 22(a) of this chapter that is
adopted after May 10, 2023. At least forty-five (45) days before the
resolution described in subsection (a) is voted on by the governing
body, the school corporation shall contact each charter school,
excluding virtual charter schools or adult high schools, disclosed by the
department to the school corporation under subsection (f) to determine
whether the charter school will participate in the referendum. The
notice must include the total amount of the school corporation's
expected need, the corresponding estimate of that amount divided by
the number of students enrolled in the school corporation, and the date
on which the governing body of the school corporation will vote on the
resolution. The charter school must respond in writing to the school
corporation, which may be by electronic mail addressed to the
superintendent of the school corporation, at least fifteen (15) days prior
to the date that the resolution described in subsection (a) is to be voted
on by the governing body. If the charter school elects to not participate
in the referendum, the school corporation may exclude distributions to
the charter school under section 22 of this chapter and from the
projection described in subsection (d). If the charter school elects to
participate in the referendum, the charter school may receive
distributions under section 22 of this chapter and must be included in
the projection described in subsection (d). In addition, a charter school
that elects to participate in the referendum under this subsection shall
contribute a proportionate share of the cost to conduct the referendum
based on the total combined ADM of the school corporation and any
participating charter schools.
(j) This subsection applies to a resolution described in subsection
(a) for a county described in section 22(a) of this chapter that is
adopted after May 10, 2023. At least thirty (30) days before the
referendum submitted to the voters under this chapter is voted on by
the public in a general election, the school corporation that is pursuing
the referendum and any charter school that has elected to participate
under subsection (i) shall post a referendum disclosure statement on
each school's respective website that contains the following
information:
(1) The salaries by position within the school corporation or
charter school listed from highest salary to lowest salary and a
link to Gateway Indiana for access to individual salaries.
(2) An acknowledgment that the school corporation or charter
school is not committing any crime described in IC 35-44.1-1.
(3) A link to the school corporation's or charter school's most
recent state board of accounts audit on the state board of accounts'
website.
(4) The current enrollment of the school corporation or charter
school disaggregated by student group and race.
(5) The school corporation's or charter school's high school
graduation rate.
(6) The school corporation's or charter school's annual retention
rate for teachers for the previous five (5) years.