What does a YES vote on Carmel Clay Schools mean?

Carmel Clay Schools would raise property taxes for up to eight years, at a rate of up to $0.4274 and no more than $61,981,519 a year, to fund safety and well-being including school resource officers, teacher and staff retention, and academic and support programs, replacing its existing referendums; a median $500,000 home's yearly tax bill would rise by $1,062.

What does a NO vote on Carmel Clay Schools mean?

Carmel Clay Schools would not replace its existing referendum tax with this new levy, and property taxes would not rise under this question.

Would my taxes really go up $1,062?

$1,062 is the official ballot estimate for a $500,000 median home at the maximum rate, without subtracting the current referendum taxes being replaced. Superintendent Tom Oestreich told Current the actual first-year increase for the median homeowner would be about $143, and that the district would not collect the maximum in the first year.

What happens to the current safety and operating referendums?

The ballot question says the new referendum repeals and replaces the existing referendums, so there would be one referendum tax instead of two.

How long would it last?

No more than eight years. The district says that would set funding through the Class of 2034.

How many votes does Carmel Clay Schools need to pass?

A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.

Should I vote yes or no on Carmel Clay Schools?

SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.

The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.

Carmel Clay Schools — Operating Referendum (Hamilton County)

Last updated Sun, Nov 8, 3:15 AM ET

Ballot measure · November 3, 2026 · Carmel Clay Schools school district voters

What it does: Shall Carmel Clay Schools increase property taxes paid to the School Corporation for no more than eight (8) years for the purpose of funding and sustaining educational and operational stability in response to reductions in property tax revenue by repealing and replacing its existing referendums, including supporting student safety, health, and well-being, including the employment and retention of school resource officers; supporting and retaining teachers and staff; and funding academic and support programs to meet the educational needs of all students, by imposing a property tax rate that does not exceed $0.4274 and results in a maximum annual amount that does not exceed $61,981,519? If this operating referendum public question is approved by the voters, for a median residence of $500,000, the property's annual property tax bill would increase by $1,062 per year. The most recent operating referendum public question proposed by the school corporation was held in 2023 and passed.
A YES vote means: Carmel Clay Schools would raise property taxes for up to eight years, at a rate of up to $0.4274 and no more than $61,981,519 a year, to fund safety and well-being including school resource officers, teacher and staff retention, and academic and support programs, replacing its existing referendums; a median $500,000 home's yearly tax bill would rise by $1,062.
A NO vote means: Carmel Clay Schools would not replace its existing referendum tax with this new levy, and property taxes would not rise under this question.
Needed to pass: A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Left–right lean: Unclear: our AI read of the official summary isn't confident enough (we require 70%) to place this on the left–right spectrum, so we don't. Read the summary and decide for yourself.

The YES and NO lines are SpectrumVote's plain-language reading of the official text above; the official text is what you vote on.

Official text: source

Explained

Today

Carmel Clay Schools has two voter-approved referendum taxes. The district lists an operating referendum (approved in 2023, rate $0.19 per $100 of assessed value, 2023 to 2031, levy about $24 million) and a safety referendum (rate $0.05, 2020 to 2027, about $5.6 million) that pays for 21 school resource officers, onsite mental health services and student services staff.
The district says the operating referendum supplements its Education Fund by more than 17%.
Indiana's Senate Enrolled Act 1 adds property tax credits and exemptions that lower taxable values; Current reports the district expects to lose nearly $120 million in referendum funding over eight years as a result.

If it passes

The two existing referendums would be repealed and replaced by a single operating referendum lasting no more than eight years.
The new referendum tax rate could not exceed $0.4274 per $100 of assessed value, and the annual levy could not exceed $61,981,519.
The ballot lists the purposes as student safety, health and well-being (including school resource officers), supporting and retaining teachers and staff, and academic and support programs.

Example

The Hamilton County Auditor's certification for the ballot: the median home's gross assessed value ($482,000) is rounded up to $500,000; after the $40,000 standard deduction and $211,600 supplemental deduction, net assessed value is $248,400; at the maximum $0.4274 rate, the referendum tax is $1,061.66, rounded to $1,062 a year. State law requires this figure to count the full referendum rate, so it does not subtract the existing referendum taxes this one would replace. (source)

Who would notice

Property owners in the Carmel Clay Schools district, who pay the referendum tax, and the district's students and staff, whose programs, salaries and school resource officers it funds.

How it got here

The Board of Trustees unanimously voted to place the referendum on the November 2026 ballot to restore funding reductions tied to Senate Enrolled Act 1 and changes in state funding formulas; the district also cites new state rules on the timing of referendums. Indiana's Department of Local Government Finance approved the ballot wording on July 7, 2026. Voters last approved an operating referendum in 2023.

In the news

Carmel Clay Schools zeros in on new referendum rate, amount · Current in Carmel, 2026-06-11
Carmel Clay school board weighs referendum options; decision expected June 24 · Current in Carmel, 2026-06-18

Written by SpectrumVote from 5 linked sources (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Arguments are each side's own, not ours; the official text is what you vote on.

Background

According to Carmel Clay Schools, the school board unanimously voted to place this operating referendum on the November 2026 ballot to ask voters about restoring funding reductions associated with Senate Enrolled Act 1 and shifts in state funding formulas.

The district lists two existing voter-approved levies: a 2023 operating referendum at a $0.19 tax rate for 2023-2031 and a safety referendum at $0.05 for 2020-2027; the ballot question says the new levy would repeal and replace the existing referendums.

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance approved the ballot language on July 7, 2026, finding that the rate would not exceed $0.4274 per $100 of assessed value and, as certified by the Hamilton County Auditor, that the tax bill on a median $500,000 home would rise by $1,062 a year.

Put on the ballot by Carmel Clay Schools Board of School Trustees, unanimous vote (2026); ballot language approved by the Indiana DLGF July 7, 2026 (No. 26-030-REF).

From official source 1, official source 2.

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Quick answers

What does a YES vote on Carmel Clay Schools mean?: Carmel Clay Schools would raise property taxes for up to eight years, at a rate of up to $0.4274 and no more than $61,981,519 a year, to fund safety and well-being including school resource officers, teacher and staff retention, and academic and support programs, replacing its existing referendums; a median $500,000 home's yearly tax bill would rise by $1,062.
What does a NO vote on Carmel Clay Schools mean?: Carmel Clay Schools would not replace its existing referendum tax with this new levy, and property taxes would not rise under this question.
Would my taxes really go up $1,062?: $1,062 is the official ballot estimate for a $500,000 median home at the maximum rate, without subtracting the current referendum taxes being replaced. Superintendent Tom Oestreich told Current the actual first-year increase for the median homeowner would be about $143, and that the district would not collect the maximum in the first year.
What happens to the current safety and operating referendums?: The ballot question says the new referendum repeals and replaces the existing referendums, so there would be one referendum tax instead of two.
How long would it last?: No more than eight years. The district says that would set funding through the Class of 2034.
How many votes does Carmel Clay Schools need to pass?: A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.
Should I vote yes or no on Carmel Clay Schools?: SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.
When is the vote?: The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.

Not sure how to decide? Read our nonpartisan guide to the Hamilton County ballot.

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