SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Speedway says as many as half of its schools may be forced to close if a May 3 referendum fails.
The small district that is Speedway Schools isn't like most in Central Indiana.
There are just six buildings, with an average of 18 kids in each classroom. There are no school buses – everyone walks. And if you want to attend these schools, you have to live within a 4-square-mile area.
It's a small neighborhood setup that's existed since 1928.
It's also one that might not exist much longer if voters don't approve a referendum in May.
"If this referendum doesn't pass, there are going to be some fundamental changes in Speedway," said Superintendent Kenneth Hull.
Hull says a fourth of the district's current operating revenue relies on the $3.7 million it gets from the current referendum each year. Without it, he says, the district will have no choice but to cut teaching positions and close schools."
"What the referendum allows us to do is keep four neighborhood schools with very small classes," Hull said. "If it doesn't pass, we'll be caused to be like others. We'll go to two elementaries."
The junior high will also have to merge with the high school, Hull said, meaning the district would go from six schools with an average class size of 18 to three schools with a class size of 28.
"Five years down the road, absent this referendum, it is absolutely likely we would consolidate internally," Hull said. "And within another five years we'd have to be asking ourselves: Can we consolidate with another school district?"
If the referendum does pass, Speedway homeowners won't pay any more in property taxes, since it's a renewal. If it fails, their taxes could go down by about $180 a year.
-----
Sign up to have the latest news headlines delivered straight to your email inbox
