What do students think about the referendum?

After a dozen public forums and numerous meetings throughout Noblesville, the Noblesville Schools Board of School Trustees has voted to take a $63.6 million building project, and a $5 million operational referendum, to the voters of Noblesville Township in the May 4 primary election.

If passed, already-capped property taxes must be increased. Otherwise, teachers will be nixed and funds will be further cut. The news is causing quite a commotion within the community, but what do students think about it?

Senior Nathaniel Staggs

“I’d like to think that I’ve built a bond of friendship with many of my teachers, to the point where I can talk to them about not only   schoolwork, but my life outside of school. We, as voters, have their livelihoods in our hands, and I personally think that a simple ‘yes’ on a ballot is worth the time. I know many students think that they’ll never use anything they’ve learned these past four years ever again, but the truth is, we didn’t learn the quadratic formula, Avagadro’s number, or the Spanish “passive se” so much as we learned how to learn. Honestly, as cliché as it sounds, my teachers have taught me far more than just their subject matter. I think a simple vote is the least I can do for them.”

Junior Ashley Wilson

“I truly believe that this is a referendum worth voting for. It isn’t asking for money to build more athletic centers or buy better homecoming decorations, it’s asking for money to keep teachers who deserve their jobs and keep classroom size at a manageable level, not at 35-40 kids in a classroom. Honestly, if this doesn’t pass, I don’t know what the schools will have to do next. Over half of the so-called nonessential programs have to fund themselves as of next year and many more, such as sixth grade band, choir and strings, as well as middle school, may very well be cut all together.”

Senior Austin May

“Although I will no longer be in school, I want the kids below me to have the same fulfilling experiences I had in the Noblesville school  system, and if that means increasing taxes to avoid staff and funding cuts, so be it.”

For more information about the referendum, visit www.educatenoblesville.org.

Photos provided by students