Why Should Delaware Care?
School referendums are the only time that voters in Delaware have a direct say in their taxation rate. But they also make it harder for school districts to meet rising costs. Monday’s results in the Caesar Rodney School District marked an end to an ongoing trend of referendum failures.
The Caesar Rodney and Laurel school districts each asked local residents to raise school taxes through referendums votes on Monday.
In Laurel, voters rejected the $1.6 million request by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, according to the initial tally.
But in Caesar Rodney, voters went the other way with about 58% of them approving their $6 million referendum. Those results from the Kent County district ended a string of failed referendums across Delaware in recent years.
In interviews at polling locations, voters expressed a range of opinions, with opponents citing recent tax increases following property reassessments, and supporters saying the districts needed more money for teachers.
“The only way to really keep good teachers in the district is making sure that we have the money for it,” Shea Brown, a referendum supporter and Caesar Rodney School District teacher, said.
The districts — which have each taxed property owners less than neighboring areas in recent years — requested additional dollars to fund their ongoing operations, including initiatives to retain and recruit teachers and other educators. Districts throughout the state have struggled in recent years to retain educators amid what school advocates call a national teacher shortage.
The districts’ decision to hold a referendum came after several Delaware school districts failed in recent years to convince their communities to raise school taxes.
Among those was Caesar Rodney, where voters rejected a referendum in 2023.
Then, last spring in nearby Smyrna, nearly 60% of voters did the same when the local school district requested $5.4 million. In the months after the failed referendum, Smyrna schools have struggled to pay its bills, leaving the district and its union of teachers and other staff members in a standoff over pay.
Also last year, voters in and around the Delaware beaches rejected two referendum requests from the Indian River School District, even after school board members in the booming Sussex County area went public with their fiscal woes.
Last year was the first time since 1997 that no school district voters in Delaware approved a spending referendum.
Following the vote on Monday, the Laurel School District — which sits in and around the western Sussex County town that shares its name — said in a Facebook post that district officials would take time to “review, reflect, and learn from the feedback we received.”
“And we remain committed to doing what’s best for our students and community moving forward,” the social media post stated.
In its own Facebook message posted Monday night, the Caesar Rodney School district thanked residents who voted for the referendum, stating it demonstrated “a deep belief in investing in the daily success and well‑being of our schools.”
‘We’re the ones who have to pay for it’
Caesar Rodney’s successful $6 million referendum follows recent years in which the district has had the lowest school tax rate in Kent County, according to the Caesar Rodney officials.
Educators within the district also earn less than those in neighboring districts.
Still, while some voters, like Brown, supported the referendum, others cited what they described as a lack of financial transparency at the district.
Residents Terry and Rebecca Lovin, whose children graduated from the Caesar Rodney School District, both voted against the referendum.
Terry Lovin, who previously worked in the school district’s technology department, said he felt the referendum would only provide additional funding toward student programs, rather than address the district’s financial health.
Rebecca Lovin said she does not want students to be negatively impacted, but argued that the district should consider cuts at the administrative level before raising taxes.
“It’s tough to be in teaching, it’s not funded the way probably schools need to be funded,” she said. “But at the same time, we’re the ones who have to pay for it, so they can manage their funds better.”
With the approved request, owners of a home worth about $300,000 in the district will pay just under $23 more per month in property taxes.
Beyond teacher pay, the request will also pay for school safety, arts programs and bus services, among other items.
The first referendum since 1985
Unlike Caesar Rodney, the Laurel School District’s request to raise taxes failed after more than 64% of voters rejected the operational referendum asking for $1.6 million.
It was the district’s first referendum request since 1985.
The Laurel School District said its request would have helped to stabilize the district’s budget, and fund competitive compensation for staff, as well as other operational costs.
Laurel is one of many school districts in Delaware that chose to implement a 10% increase in property tax revenue following the completion two years ago of the first statewide property reassessment in more than three decades.
James West, who has lived in the Laurel School District for 25 years and voted against the referendum, said he and other residents felt like the district was “trying to reach into our pockets,” by holding a referendum after implementing the property reassessment increase last year.
He said now was the right time for the district to hold a referendum, arguing the district should have waited another year to evaluate its finances.
“We are one of the poorest communities in the state, so we need to see how everyone fares out and everything works out over the next year or so, and how the school [district] does with the money they are receiving,” he said.
Educators have told Spotlight Delaware that the small Sussex County district has not been able to keep teachers’ salaries competitive with wealthier districts because it has not held a referendum in decades.
In August, Spotlight Delaware reported about the struggles that rural, working-class districts, such as Laurel, face to keep teacher salaries competitive with those in wealthier areas.
Educators’ salaries are funded by a combination of state and local tax revenue, with the state paying approximately 70% of a total salary. But two districts just 30 miles apart can have an $8,000 difference between their salaries for educators who have the same amount of years of experience and degrees.
Aaliyah Waller, a school district staffer who voted for the referendum, said she has seen firsthand how staff and students need more resources.
“If we want our students to be successful, which are going to be the new adults and the new decision makers, presidents, lawmakers, they need to have the perfect education, and we can’t do that without new resources,” she said.
Nick Stonesifer contributed to this report.