In the wake of a May school shooting at a middle school in Noblesville, the school district will now ask voters to nearly double their property tax rate to expand school safety measures.  Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Eric Weddle reports.

In the aftermath of the May 25 shooting at Noblesville Middle School West, parents have asked the district to fortify the schools with security and provide more services to help students with mental health and emotional needs.

The Noblesville school board voted this week to seek $6.25 million dollars a year in additional operation funding for the next eight years.  That makes for a total of $50 million dollars.

The district recently unveiled a new safety plan that includes adding a trained police officer in every school, an increase from three to 14. It would also provide additional surveillance equipment, increased facility lockdown tools, mental health counseling staff, and the elimination of portable classrooms.

The new funds would also go toward recruiting and retaining teaching staff.

If approved by voters in November, it would replace a referendum passed two years ago.  The current operating referendum tax rate is 18.9 cents per $100 of assessed value. Voters approved that rate in 2016. The proposed referendum would replace the 18.9 cents rate with a new rate of 37 cents per $100 of assessed value.

“The referendum we passed in 2016 was about maintaining the status quo of our staffing, programming and services, and was a 10.5 percent reduction in the tax rate,” Noblesville Superintendent Beth Niedermeyer said in a statement. “This referendum is asking the community to support an increase in funding so we can address school safety and mental health enhancements, as well as teacher recruiting/retention needs.”

This referendum for the Nov. 6 ballot would be the sixth tax increase requested by Noblesville Schools since 2009.