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# Survey: 46% of Responding Indiana Districts Cut Teaching Roles
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/state-news-indiana-2026-09-23-b/
- Published: 2026-09-23T21:48:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T21:48:50.000Z
- Description: A new survey of 144 Indiana superintendents found widespread staff reductions as districts adjust to property-tax changes, but its voluntary sample measures reported experience rather than statewide causation.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Policy, Indiana

Nearly half of the Indiana school leaders responding to a new statewide survey said their districts had eliminated at least one teaching position, offering an early measure of how local budgets are changing after the state’s 2025 property-tax overhaul.

The [survey report](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ICPE%5F2026-School-Funding-Report.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) from the Indiana Coalition for Public Education found 46% of respondents had cut teaching roles. Half reported cuts to support staff, while another 16% expected support-staff reductions. When districts considering or planning reductions were included, 93% of respondents reported some exposure to teaching cuts.

ICPE sent the questionnaire to 290 superintendents and received 144 responses, according to [reporting](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/09/23/indiana-superintendents-say-theyre-cutting-jobs-because-of-property-tax-reforms/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) by the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Nearly all respondents anticipated negative financial effects from Senate Enrolled Act 1, the property-tax law enacted last year.

## What the survey can and cannot show

The results describe the districts that chose to respond; they are not a census of all Indiana school corporations or a randomized estimate of statewide conditions. ICPE advocates for public-school funding, and respondents were asked to connect staffing and service decisions to policy changes. The findings therefore document administrators’ reported experiences, not independent proof that SEA 1 caused every listed cut.

Still, the responses align with the law’s projected fiscal pressure. A [Legislative Service Agency analysis](https://iga.in.gov/publications/supplemental%5Ffiscal%5Fnote%5Freport/SB1%5F2nd%5FReading%5FAmendment%5FHouse%5FAdopted%5FNet%20Levy%5FEstimates%5FWith%20Changes%5Ffrom%5FBaseline.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) estimated Indiana public schools would collect about $744.4 million less in property-tax revenue over three years beginning in 2026, including roughly $336 million in 2028\. Those are statewide projections, not a forecast that every district will lose the same share.

The law’s supporters emphasize the other side of that ledger: lower bills for homeowners and farmers. The official [bill record](https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2025/bills/senate/1/details?ref=theamericanquorum.com) contains the enacted measure, while Senate Republicans said the package provides homeowner relief and about $116 million in savings for farmers through temporary changes to the agricultural-land assessment formula.

## Why staffing appears first

School budgets are labor-intensive, so revenue changes often reach classrooms through vacancies, attrition or position reductions. Crown Point Community School Corporation said in a March [budget notice](https://www.cps.k12.in.us/about/district-news/details/~board/cpcsc-news/post/senate-enrolled-act-1-effects-on-school-budgets?ref=theamericanquorum.com) that salaries and benefits account for 86% of spending across its education, operations and referendum funds. The district said SEA 1 reduces both operating revenue and the value generated by its voter-approved referendum.

Local circumstances remain important. Enrollment, expiring federal aid, wage agreements, inflation, referendum support and prior staffing decisions can also shape a district’s budget. That means the survey should be read as a warning signal rather than a complete accounting of Indiana school finance. It gives lawmakers a timely snapshot before the next budget cycle.

For families, the practical questions will be district-specific: which positions disappear, whether class sizes grow, and whether transportation, counseling, extracurricular programs or building services change. Those details will emerge through public budget hearings and school-board votes as districts finalize spending plans under the new tax rules.