Frequently asked questions

An operating referendum for Noblesville Schools, on the November 3, 2026 ballot. It would replace the 2018 operating referendum (which expires at the end of 2026) and authorize a property-tax rate of up to 57¢ per $100 of assessed value for eight years, through 2034. Everyone living inside the Noblesville Schools boundary votes on it.

Noblesville Schools — Referendum 2026

Not at the same price. The current rate is 37¢. The referendum authorizes a maximum of 57¢ — roughly 54% higher. A true renewal would keep the rate where it is. Calling a rate increase a “continuation” is a framing choice, not the math.

It's described as “the average annual increase over all eight years,” but it isn't an average. We took apart the district's own calculator: $1.88 is its final-year increase divided by eight — the average size of each year's step, not the amount you'd pay above your current bill. Run that same calculator across its own eight years and the average is $8.19 a month, reaching $15.05 a month by 2034. See the year-by-year arithmetic →

Separately, the figure is a net change — it quietly folds in a 2025 state tax cut (SEA 1) that is lowering school taxes whether or not this referendum passes. Measure only what's actually on the ballot, the rate going from 37¢ to 57¢, and on a $350,000 home it costs about $19 a month, roughly $230 a year, once fully phased in. Higher-valued homes pay more. Run your own assessed value →

Indiana law requires the ballot question to carry its own cost estimate. This one reads: “If this operating referendum public question is approved by the voters, for a median residence of $350,000, the property's annual property tax bill would increase by $955 per year.” Superintendent Hile calls that “misleading.”

We checked it, and the $955 is arithmetically correct for what it measures: the full 57¢ rate in 2027, using the state's own homestead deductions, compared with having no referendum. We get $954.18. It does not ignore your deductions — it uses them. What it doesn't do is subtract what you pay under the current referendum, because that one expires in December 2026. You are not voting to extend anything; you're voting on a new eight-year levy where there would otherwise be none.

So all three numbers are defensible — they answer different questions. See exactly what each one measures →

It changes some things and not the important one. On 12 August 2026 the district cut its committed 2027 rate from 41¢ to 38.5¢, revised its headline figure from $2.30 to $1.88 a month, published a rate plan peaking at 54.5¢, and said it “does not expect to need the maximum 57 cent rate.” Those are genuine improvements and we’ve updated this site to reflect them.

What didn’t change is the ballot. It still authorizes 57¢ and a maximum of $43,842,578 a year — about 75% above the ~$25M the district says it needs. The district explains that it “had to certify the ballot language before we had the most recent information on Noblesville assessed values.” That’s candid, and it means the binding document rests on figures the district now calls out of date. A webpage can be revised overnight — this one was. The ballot can only be changed by voters. The full comparison →

For a lot of homeowners, possibly yes — and we'd rather explain that than pretend otherwise. A 2025 state law, SEA 1, is phasing out the $48,000 standard homestead deduction and raising the supplemental deduction from 40% to 66.7%. That shrinks the value your school taxes are charged against, every year, whether this referendum passes or fails. It's big enough that your total referendum bill may hold roughly flat — or fall, on a more expensive home — even if this passes.

The referendum still costs about $19 a month on a $350,000 home. So the real question isn't whether your bill goes up. It's who gets the tax cut the legislature just passed — your household, or the district. The full math →

Noblesville is asking for the highest rate of the four. The certified ballot questions on file with the state show Noblesville at a maximum 57¢, Carmel Clay at 42.74¢, Westfield Washington at 39.41¢ and Hamilton Southeastern at 36¢. Indiana law makes the county auditor compute each district's median-home cost using the identical formula and deduction schedule, so this is a real comparison rather than a constructed one. Per $100,000 of home value, Noblesville's question costs $273 a year against Westfield's $194 and Hamilton Southeastern's $175.

Two things cut the other way and you should have them: Noblesville's referendum genuinely expires at the end of 2026, while the other three are replacing referendums with years still to run — and as a percentage increase over what each district levies today, Noblesville is the mildest of the four (+68%, against Westfield's +168%). The precise point isn't that Noblesville wants the biggest jump. It's that it already levies the county's highest school referendum rate and is asking to stay the most expensive district in Hamilton County for another eight years. The full table, with every source →

Supporting students and scrutinizing a tax increase aren't opposites. Noblesville is a growing district with engaged families; that's not in question. Voting no is a statement that this rate, for this long, hasn't been justified — and that accountability for existing dollars should come first. Districts routinely bring revised proposals back after a no vote.

At the May 19, 2026 board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Dan Hile said the district would “absolutely want to make a commitment to our community of a not to exceed increase year over year,” and that what was modeled was “a no more than 4 cent increase to the rate each year until it hits that 57 cent rate” (watch from 1:14:29). The district has since committed in writing to a rate no higher than 38.5¢ in 2027.

Those are real commitments. But they're promises, not ballot language. What you actually approve is authority to levy up to the full 57¢ for eight years; the written commitment covers only the first year of the eight, and a spoken pledge doesn't legally cap the rate or bind the board that sets it in 2031. See the note on The Numbers.

The 2018 referendum expires at the end of 2026 regardless. The district says roughly $25 million a year — about 20% of the operating budget — is at stake, and warns of cuts. A no vote sends the district back to prioritize existing spending and, if it chooses, return with a more modest proposal — a lower rate or a shorter term.

The “bottom 6%” figure is accurate, but it doesn't mean what it sounds like. Indiana's funding formula deliberately adds money for districts with more low-income students, so every well-off district ranks near the bottom — that's the formula working as designed, not Noblesville being singled out.

The state's own figures bear that out. Per student in 2025, Noblesville received $7,460 — more than Westfield ($7,250), Carmel ($7,211) and Fishers/HSE ($7,036). Noblesville comes out on top precisely because it serves more low-income students, which drives the needs-based part of the grant. And Hamilton Southeastern ranks in the bottom 2% — worse than Noblesville — while asking its voters for a referendum on this same ballot.

So the honest reading is: Noblesville is treated like every other affluent Indiana district, and slightly better than its immediate neighbors. The real debate isn't “fund schools or don't” — it's the right amount and rate, and whether households can absorb it.

Per-student state funding, school year 2025: Indiana GPS (Noblesville, Westfield, Carmel and HSE corporation figures). HSE's ranking: WFYI. Full table →

Indiana's property-tax caps (the constitutional 1%/2%/3% caps) are a protection for taxpayers. Money not collected because of the caps stayed with families by design. Describing it as “lost” assumes the schools were entitled to it in the first place.

An independent, self-funded effort by a concerned Noblesville resident — not a campaign committee or PAC. See the About page. Our goal is simply to make sure voters see the full math before Election Day.

See How to Vote for registration, early voting, absentee, and Election Day details for Hamilton County. Confirm your registration and polling place at indianavoters.in.gov.