Noblesville Schools is celebrating 100 years of the Millers and continuing changes throughout the district.
Noblesville Schools Superintendent Dan Hile touched on academic achievements, school finances, construction and future plans during his State of the Schools address Nov. 4 in the newly expanded academic wing of Noblesville High School.
Community support
Hile recognized the support Noblesville Schools receives from community partners and organizations.
“(The Noblesville Rotary Club) has donated (more than) $16,000 over the last few years to our Noblesville High School Robotics Team, and this is just one example,” Hile said. “We have so many partners who support our students, including workforce development, career fairs, internships and many social support services as well.”
Hile also recognized the partnerships that assist with student mental health. The district has partnerships with the City of Noblesville, Aspire Indiana Health and Community Health Network.
“Our counselors and social workers had over 25,000 individual and group sessions and lessons in our schools last year,” Hile said. “This continues to be something we take very seriously in Noblesville and will continue to serve in the years ahead.”
Coming soon
At Hile’s 2024 State of the Schools address, he announced the creation of the Noblesville Schools Hall of Fame, which honors individuals who have demonstrated service, support, accomplishments or contributions to the school community. Soon, the school will create a Hall of Fame Courtyard near the Noblesville Schools Community Center at 1775 Field Dr.
“We will be holding an official induction for the eight individuals in the Class of 2025 in April, and right now, we are taking nominations on our website for the upcoming Class of 2026,” Hile said.
Noblesville Schools also is partnering with the Noblesville Preservation Alliance and the City of Noblesville to restore a historic bell that formerly sat at the Second Ward School in what is now Seminary Park.
“After doing some research, we’ve learned that the bell is likely from at least the 1850s, but it’s very possible it could even be older than that,” Hile said. “There’s a lot of working ideas going on right now with the city to give it a permanent home in Seminary Park so that our entire community has the chance to enjoy this amazing landmark.”
An athletic building also is being built at Noblesville East Middle School, as well as a new softball locker room facility at NHS. Hile said the district also is doing general maintenance at schools, such as updating air handler units at NHS.
Financial challenges and successes
Because of the state’s new property tax law, Senate Enrolled Act 1, Hile said the district is facing a challenging financial climate.
“At Noblesville Schools, this will have an impact of several million dollars to our annual budget in the wrong direction, just because of the way that the property tax collections will change in the years ahead,” Hile said.
The district’s enrollment also is declining, he said.
“At the end of the day, our senior class is outpacing our kindergarten class,” Hile said. “In the state of Indiana, the majority of our funding that pays for teacher salaries and education comes from the student funding formula (a method for allocating educational money based on student needs). This is something we are watching very carefully, and we’re making some decisions in the district (about) how to manage that if that trend were to continue in the years ahead.”
The district’s referendum funds expire in 2026. Hile said the community ultimately will have to decide whether to vote for another referendum.
“That is something that the board will have to make a decision of whether they ask the question, and then truly the decision rests with all of our taxpayers and voters right here in Noblesville Township,” Hile said. “This is a critical piece of our funding. It supports so many programs for our children and all sorts of other things, and we’re so blessed by that. But that, of course, is a financial challenge, because that does provide some uncertainty for our school corporation.”
Hile also discussed financial wins, including decreasing the tax rate for the seventh consecutive year; maintaining an AA credit rating; approving a new teacher contract; and the launch of a new financial website, noblesvilleschools.org/community/dollars-ense-financial-information.
Recent achievements
Hile recognized recent staff and student achievements, including Noblesville Schools School Resource Officer Jason Shonkwiler being named the Indiana SRO of the Year and being appointed by Gov. Mike Braun to serve on the Indiana Secured School Safety Board; the launch of a new awards program which honors all support staff; a staff retention rate of 92 percent; the Marching Millers performing at Ruoff Music Center; among others.
“In 1925, the Noblesville Milling Company offered the school system new athletic jerseys if (the school agreed to call themselves) the Millers,” Hile said. “That company no longer exists, and yet, here we are. We’re still the Millers 100 years later. I just wonder what (those athletes) would think if they could fast forward to today and see all the experiences that we’re giving students here at Noblesville and how we’ve grown. We do not take our community support for granted.”
