Hanover School District Referendum (Schererville, Highland: townhomes, theater, construction)

[iidreamtheaterii]

Having been through plenty of referendums in the past, I feel nervous about this one passing as it would seem to have a larger impact on the Hanover School District than most.

This past school year start, both of my elementary school children were at risk to have a class size of 32+ children with likely an aide rather than add another class due to not having enough teachers/classrooms to do so.

This had been rectified 1 week prior to school starting.

Cedar Lake/St. John has had HUMONGOUS growth with new homes/subdivisions being approved at a rapid pace and the influx of students definitely calls for a change. This new referendum (hoping that it passes) will alleviate classrooms by adding an additional school to house the 3-5th grades, making the Jane Ball and Lincoln Elementary to house the K-2nd grades.

Should this not pass, what can we expect to happen? Would there be more referendums in the future years to hopefully eventually pass? Or would we just have to wait it out, potentially bring in trailers for classrooms and just wait for the new homes taxes to build up enough revenue to build a new school?

https://www.in.gov/dlgf/files/Refere...orporation.pdf

[CGab]

My kids are in LC not Hanover, but I know many in your district. Lake Central passed a large operating referendum last year. Many opposed, but it passed overwhelmingly. I have the Nextdoor App, I highly suggest it if you don't have it. Lately there is a lot of talk about the Hanover referendum on that APP.

Many residents who have lived in the district for a long time oppose it fearing a massive increase in their property taxes. Some feel they shouldn't pay for schools if they don't have kids going to them. Many think a new school is not needed and that if it is, the district should already have plenty of money for it. With any proposed tax increase, one needs to do their homework before voting. In the case of the Hanover district, anyone can see that the growth rate is outpacing the school space. With many new homes going up and the increase in population moving here from Illinois, the schools will be beyond capacity. If the money isn't there to build another school, then the only option would be to have the children learn in trailers. In my opinion, if that happens, it will have a negative impact on the district and property values overall.

Can the district try for another referendum in the future if it doesn't pass this time? Yes, and they can also try for future referendums even if it does pass. More grow could require even more schools in the future besides the one they currently want to build.

[Northwest Indiana]

I’m hoping it passes for the sake of the district. However, one uphill battle I know is that out of the growing districts in Lake County, it seems as though Hanover Township has a lot of new residential developments geared towards empty nesters (townhomes, cottage homes, duplexes) and many of them have downsized from larger homes in other areas whether that is Illinois or other areas like Schererville, Dyer, Munster, Highland, etc where tax rates are higher (even though schools are great too). I just have this feeling that it may be a close vote but I could be wrong. Even though Munster’s referendums passed by a huge margin despite having an older average resident age than every other town in the area, the vast majority of folks moved to Munster because of the schools and know the value it holds even after no longer having kids in the school. For Hanover, while the schools have improved and have gotten more amenities and programs to make it more competitive, you never hear as much people saying “I moved there for the schools” as much as you hear “I moved there for the lower taxes/lower crime”. And because of the belief that better schools will attract more people which will attract more crime, I also have a feeling that some residents may not want to make the area “more attractive” to outsiders. I see this sentiment a lot especially when the “outsiders” are from Illinois.

[iidreamtheaterii]

There is definitely a lot "BAD" information being spread around on social media; Facebook especially. There's a lot of truthful information trying to combat it, but it's pretty clear the financial impact will be very negligible for what is being proposed. A $250k home will have an increase of $130 a YEAR in property taxes.

I'm hoping the uneducated are simply social media warriors rather than actually voting, and those of us that care about infrastructure will vote positively in this. I'm on the fence about selling my home to get into the Crown Point network should this referendum not pass. As described in the above post, property values are at risk if/when trailers are going to be brought in, so selling at the peak would be a better financial move for me.

I'm sure eventually the district will figure itself out, but going through those stressful years when my children are in the prime schoolyears that this will impact isn't my cup of tea.

[Northwest Indiana]

Unfortunately, this is what I expected given my previous comment:

River Forest, Duneland schools pass referendums; Hanover fails with narrow margin

And although I did not see the way the results were split in each voting ward, it seems like it was mostly Cedar Lake residents voting against it based on the way the article is written (which unfortunately would not surprise me).

iidreamtheaterii, are you really going to plan a move to CP? If you do, I would definitely make your voice heard and encourage others to do so as well about why you are moving. Of course, some folks may shrug it off because you’re not an “original” resident and just one of the “yuppies” as many would call it. I still feel like the district will be okay for now but when someone could get the same home in Center Township for nearly the same or only slightly more than in Hanover, that should be a concern. But I can say this: The idea of kids being educated in trailers is not what would attract the best and brightest families to the district. Growth will definitely still continue but it won’t be pretty.

[iidreamtheaterii]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

iidreamtheaterii, are you really going to plan a move to CP? If you do, I would definitely make your voice heard and encourage others to do so as well about why you are moving. Of course, some folks may shrug it off because you’re not an “original” resident and just one of the “yuppies” as many would call it. I still feel like the district will be okay for now but when someone could get the same home in Center Township for nearly the same or only slightly more than in Hanover, that should be a concern. But I can say this: The idea of kids being educated in trailers is not what would attract the best and brightest families to the district. Growth will definitely still continue but it won’t be pretty.

Northwest Indiana: My wife and I are definitely weighing the options of moving out of the Hanover District for the sake of our children. Although I have 2 going into another year within the schools, my twins boys will be starting preschool this year. Knowing that ultimately Hanover will come out resolved with whatever they decide in the future, I am not keen on being a part of the 'building years' at the expense of my children's experience and education.

We are waiting at the moment to see if there is any real Plan B besides the "wait 2 years and try again, while using trailers should the population growth continue and require it."

Another factor is there is legislation that may or may not alleviate some of the Public School allocations with the Future Teacher Pension Allocations https://www.ibj.com/articles/73446-s...al-budget-plan

This might help tip the plan sooner of where to get funding. Maybe there's matching Grants that comes out of these talks as well. It's really difficult to make the judgement call. I think I'll have 1 more schoolyear to decide, but that's not a guarantee either.

[CGab]

I have several friends that live in the Hanover school district. The ones that have children in elementary school say that their children's classrooms already have 32+ kids in them! The one's who have middle schoolers say the class sizes there are creeping up past 30 students as well. They also don't like that the middle schoolers share a bus with the high schoolers. I think that in itself would be a deal breaker for me, especially when they moved the 5th graders to the middle school! I wouldn't want my 5th grader on the same bus as a high schooler.

I think the residents need to become more educated. They think their taxes are going to go up thousands of dollars and that's not the case. They need to see the big picture.

[iidreamtheaterii]

Originally Posted by CGab

I have several friends that live in the Hanover school district. The ones that have children in elementary school say that their children's classrooms already have 32+ kids in them! The one's who have middle schoolers say the class sizes there are creeping up past 30 students as well. They also don't like that the middle schoolers share a bus with the high schoolers. I think that in itself would be a deal breaker for me, especially when they moved the 5th graders to the middle school! I wouldn't want my 5th grader on the same bus as a high schooler.

I think the residents need to become more educated. They think their taxes are going to go up thousands of dollars and that's not the case. They need to see the big picture.

Unfortunately the uneducated had their way. The "NO" Vote stands and unless something would be coming from the state, there's another 2 years (1 year if we can get 500 residents petitioned). But that, again, would simply be another TRY at getting a referendum passed.

I do worry for the increase of overall children and wonder if the High School is also prepared for the influx. The new 3-5 grade school seems necessary, but will there need to be a large addition in the following years after to house them from 9-12?

A majority of the neigh-sayers were a matter of principal that too many homes are being built and the district and they shouldn't have to pay ANY more regardless of the amount. It will be scary if there's yet more infrastructure needed passed this as well.

My current plan is to pull the kids out of Hanover altogether and pay for a private education until we find our forever home in the Crown Point School district. It's unfortunate that it comes to this, but again I'm not interested in sacrificing my kid's education experience. I wish nothing but the best for the school system to resolve itself in the next decade. There's far too many 'what if' scenarios that rolling the dice just doesn't seem in my favor.

[CGab]

Originally Posted by iidreamtheaterii

Unfortunately the uneducated had their way. The "NO" Vote stands and unless something would be coming from the state, there's another 2 years (1 year if we can get 500 residents petitioned). But that, again, would simply be another TRY at getting a referendum passed.

I do worry for the increase of overall children and wonder if the High School is also prepared for the influx. The new 3-5 grade school seems necessary, but will there need to be a large addition in the following years after to house them from 9-12?

A majority of the neigh-sayers were a matter of principal that too many homes are being built and the district and they shouldn't have to pay ANY more regardless of the amount. It will be scary if there's yet more infrastructure needed passed this as well.

My current plan is to pull the kids out of Hanover altogether and pay for a private education until we find our forever home in the Crown Point School district. It's unfortunate that it comes to this, but again I'm not interested in sacrificing my kid's education experience. I wish nothing but the best for the school system to resolve itself in the next decade. There's far too many 'what if' scenarios that rolling the dice just doesn't seem in my favor.

Of course in the coming years the high school will either need to have an addition or another high school will need to be built, because the current one will not be able to house all of the children that will be attending. The fact that this referendum didn't pass is scary IMHO as the district will need more than just a new elementary school in the future. If I was a parent of a child that is or would be attending school there, I definitely would attend all school board meetings to find out what their plan is moving forward.

[artemis]

Hanover Schools will never change.