Menu

DeKalb County Central United School District board meeting, Sep 15, 2026

1 h 33 min · 1 public speaker

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 49:39Safety, weapons and police ▶ 29:42

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 33 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

DeKalb Central board approves ambassadors program, holds hearing on 2027 budget 25:18

  • The board approved the DeKalb Central Ambassadors program and voted to accept a Secured School Safety Grant of $86,000. 29:42
  • The board held a public hearing on a 2027 budget of about $49.35 million, and a district staff member said the projected combined tax rate would likely rise from 0.791 to 0.8171. 33:24
  • Tony Baker asked how much the budget would have to be reduced to keep the tax rate the same, and the staff member estimated about $1.5 million, calling it a total guess. 52:04
  • A staff member said the budget adoption will take place at a special board meeting on October 20th. 1:29:57

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (10)
  1. Opening and roll call 1:27
    • The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a roll call. 1:27
  2. Waterloo Elementary recognitions 2:15
    • Waterloo Elementary staff presented Talker Tuesday, in which students who use different modes of communication present the lunch menu each Tuesday. 2:38
    • Staff and students described game days, when high school students greet younger students at the school. 6:38
    • A speech-language pathologist described the Wildcat Word Wall, where students write words matching a new sound each week. 12:32
  3. Agenda and consent agenda 16:28
    • The consent agenda included board minutes, the financial report, claims, personnel and field trips. 16:42
    • The chair announced that the motions to adopt the agenda and to approve the consent agenda passed. 16:42
  4. Donations 17:05
    • A staff member said grant writing brought another $2,500 to the district to support the robotics program. 17:11
    • The staff member said a local church in Waterloo donated $275.77 to pay off negative lunch balances. 17:58
  5. Community ambassadors program 18:51
    • The superintendent sought approval for a program to bring parents, community members, business leaders and alumni into the district to better understand its work and ask questions. 18:51
    • A staff member said there would be 8 meetings from October to May on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 11:30 to 1 o'clock, each focused on a different topic. 18:59
    • One board member said the program was a great idea that would bring more community involvement, and another board member said it was a great opportunity for people to come ask questions. 25:33
    • The chair announced that the motion to begin the DeKalb Central Ambassadors program passed. 25:18
  6. School safety grant 29:42
    • A staff member said the Indiana Department of Homeland Security awarded $86,000, which the district would match with another $86,000 from its operations fund. 29:53
    • The staff member said the funds help support the school resource officer program. 30:30
    • The chair announced that the motion passed. 30:59
  7. Community college dual credit agreement 31:09
    • A staff member said the annual agreement with Ivy Tech Community College allows qualifying students to earn both high school and college credit. 31:16
    • The chair announced that the motion passed. 32:41
  8. Public hearing on 2027 budget 32:44
    • A staff member said the advertised budget included $29 million for education, $11.5 million for operations, $7.85 million for debt service and $1 million for rainy day, about a 4.73% increase from 2026. 33:24
    • The staff member said net assessed value for 2027 was set at $1.914 billion, an increase of 0.26%, and that a property with $175,000 of net assessed value would see about a $45 increase. 37:04
    • A speaker at public comment said the district should plan for what a 3%, 7% or 10% reduction in net assessed value would mean, and one board member said the bigger concern was employees. 1:11:30
    • The chair announced that the motion to close the public hearing and resume the regular meeting passed. 1:20:57
  9. Board and staff comments 1:21:20
    • One board member said the softball field looked fantastic and asked a staff member to share interest income figures. 1:23:15
    • A staff member said the district earned $933,851 in interest through August 31st, compared with $1.257 million at the same time last year. 1:24:25
    • A staff member said the district received 265 out-of-district transfers based on fall of 2025, including 11 from Carroll. 1:28:59
  10. Upcoming meetings and adjournment 1:31:49
    • The chair announced an executive session after the meeting to discuss personnel, a work session on September 30th, a special board meeting on October 20th and a regular board meeting on October 27th. 1:31:49

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “DCCUSD School Board Session September 15th, 2026”