Early voting for Concord Community School's referendum kicks off

NOW: Early voting for Concord Community School’s referendum kicks off
NEXT:

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind.-- Today marks first day of early voting on the Concord Community School referendum, where registered district residents will vote on whether or not to extend the existing referendum for an additional 8 years.

If the referendum gets approved when the special election on November 2 rolls around the corner, it would reduce the tax levy by 40.5 cents to 32 cents per 100 dollars of net assessed value beginning in 2022. This would result in the lowest overall tax rate for the school district in 10 years, if voted “yes” and approved.

To put this into perspective, a taxpayer of a home with about a $100,000 AV could expect to pay about $104 dollars annually, which is about $30 less than they pay under the current maximum rate.

According to Concord, the district loses millions of dollars to tax caps every year that support their operations fund that’s used to purchase school buses and necessary maintenance to buildings, along with paying salaries to their custodians, bus drivers, and non- teaching staff. By the end of this year, Concord will have lost $31 million dollars due tax caps since 2010 when they went into effect, and is expected to lose $27 million more in the next seven years as a result of this.

If the referendum gets approved after the November election, Concord says it would benefit students by keeping class sizes low, allowing more individualized attention in the classroom to students, provide more programming and real-world opportunities for students, and purchasing Chromebooks for all students.

If you are a registered voter, here are some times and locations to take note of if you want to take part in early-voting:

Lincoln Center – 608 Oakland Ave., Elkhart

  • Mondays – 8 AM to 5 PM.
  • Tuesday thru Friday – 8 AM to 4 PM.
  • Saturday, October 23 – 9 AM to 4 PM
  • Saturday, October 30 – 9 AM to 4 PM
  • Monday, November 1 – 8 AM to 12 Noon

Elkhart County Public Services – 4320 Elkhart Rd., Goshen

  • Saturday, October 23 – 9 AM to 4 PM
  • Saturday, October 30 – 9 AM to 4 PM

Completed applications can be returned to the election board physically or by delivery. The deadline to return the completed absentee mail application is by 11:59 PM on October the 21.

As for actual voting on election day on November 2, the Elkhart Election Board plans to have 6 different voting centers open to cast their ballots from 6 AM to 6 PM Here are those locations:

FOP #52 – 1003 Industrial Parkway, Elkhart

  • Sugar Grove – 58512 Old County Road 17, Goshen
  • Elkhart County Public Services Building – 4320 Elkhart Road, Goshen
  • AMBS (Lambright Center) – 3003 Benham Avenue, Elkhart
  • Concord Fire Station – 23625 County Road 18, Elkhart
  • Elkhart Valley Church of the Brethren – 24955 County Road 24, Elkhart

Before casting your vote, Concord Community School’s will host a community forum on Wednesday, October 6 at 6 PM at Concord Junior High School, where Superintendent Dan Funston will give a presentation of the referendum, and allow for community questions and feedback.

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