Why Should Delaware Care?
Delaware is one of just a few states that send school funding questions to voters through the referendum process. And with costs rising in Southern Delaware, one district says it will need more money to stem staffing cuts.
The Indian River School District is asking residents in eastern Sussex County to vote to approve a nearly $23 million tax increase on Thursday, less than three months after a similar referendum failed.
District Superintendent Jay Owens has said his schools need the new money to pay “increased operating costs and to maintain a competitive salary package.” The statement highlights the inflationary issues that have hit areas in and around the Delaware beaches particularly hard in recent years as retirees flooded into the region.
Owens also has said the Board of Education quickly scheduled the new referendum shortly after one failed in March because the district would not have had immediate access to money generated by the tax if the vote occurred after June 30.
The vote to approve the $22.5 million referendum will occur from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 5.
The district’s total budget in the fiscal year 2025, which ends on June 30, was nearly $240 million. Nearly 11,000 students were enrolled in district schools at the start of the 2024/2025 school year.
Local opponents of the referendum have expressed frustration over the request for new public money, with some saying it points to a need for the county to instead impose additional fees on developers to support local schools.
Millville Town Councilman Bob Wisgirda also told Spotlight Delaware in March that the district’s first referendum was unpopular among many residents because they were “very paranoid” about Sussex County’s recent property reassessments, and the increased tax payments that could come with them.
Other school districts in the state, such as the Christina School District, chose to forgo a referendum this year. Instead, they are taking advantage of the tax reassessment process, which allows districts to stealthily raise local school tax rates by up to 10% without the approval of voters.
Owens previously told Spotlight Delaware that the upcoming referendum package “far exceeds” the revenue the district would generate if the Board of Education chose to raise revenue through the reassessment process.
Still, he said the board may consider raising revenue through the property tax reassessment, if Thursday’s referendum fails.
“I’m not going to say that [the board] would not consider that moving forward,” he said.
Board of Education members laid out the district’s fiscal woes during a board meeting last January when announcing the first planned referendum. At the time, they said that even a successful referendum may not eliminate the need to lay off staff to cut costs elsewhere, according to a report from Coastal Point.
“A lot of the funding goes to our teachers, but as we continue to cut, class sizes go up and we aren’t able to maintain programs and services that we know our students need and deserve,” Owens said.
How to vote:
- All residents of the Indian River School District are eligible to vote for the referendum. Voters have to be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years old, but do not have to own a home or have students in the district. Voters will need proof of address on the day of the polls, using a driver’s license, state ID card, passport, or utility bill.
- Polling places include the East Millsboro Elementary School, Georgetown Elementary School, Indian River High School, Long Neck Methodist Church, Lord Baltimore Elementary School, Millville Community Center, Selbyville Fire Hall, and Sussex Central High School.
