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 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 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 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 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 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.
