The Monroe County Community School Corporation is projected to lose over $30 million in funding by 2031.
At the MCCSC Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, district Chief Financial Officer Matt Irwin shared that Senate Enrolled Act 1 will likely reduce MCCSC’s budget by over $30 million between 2026-2031.
That number includes a $3-4 million loss on referendum revenue and $1.8 million given to charter school revenue sharing annually. Referendums are used to fund everything from teacher salaries to special construction projects, according to the Indiana Coalition for Public Education. MCCSC passed two referendums in 2022 and 2023 to fund early learning, teacher and staff salaries, student school supplies and curriculum enrichment and student support.
SEA 1 requires statewide property tax cuts, which places pressure on many school districts that rely on property tax revenue. The bill will also limit the amount of funding schools can gain from revenue referendums, mandating a one-year break between referendums. It also stipulates referendums can only take place during a general election year, or every two years.
“As we look at these headlines, we are seeing and hearing more and more about the numerous examples of budget cuts and staffing cuts across all forms of government,” MCCSC Superintendent Markay Winston said in a Wednesday release. “SEA 1 is impacting everyone, everywhere.”
During the meeting Tuesday, Irwin and Winston presented MCCSC’s quarterly update on the 2-Year Strategy to Achieve Financial Balance. Winston originally introduced the plan in February 2024, two months before SEA 1 was passed.
The two-year strategy aims to maintain a financial balanace and sustainability for MCCSC schools. Currently, the balance has not been achieved, but Irwin said during the meeting the district is projecting a positive cash balance.
“The quality instruction in our classrooms and support services that our children deserve and our community expects are going to continue,” Winston said. “It will have to look different because we will have fewer dollars to do what we're accustomed to doing, but we're going to deliver on those promises.”
To help make sense of financial changes and budget spending, MCCSC is creating a financial portal website that will launch in January 2026.
“We want it to be clear, we want it to be straight forward, we want it to be understandable, so that you can see how much care we are taking with each and every dollar and how that impacts each and every student,” Winston said.
The board will present its next financial update in February 2026.
CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to clarify what MCCSC's referendums in 2022 and 2023 funded.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the goal of MCCSC's 2-Year Strategy to Achieve Financial Balanance and that MCCSC is projecting a positive cash balance.
