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Smyrna School District seeks tax referendum for elementary school repairs

Delaware Public Media

Smyrna School District in southern New Castle County and northern Kent County wants taxpayers to approve a $667,000 capital referendum Feb. 22.   

“We have  $2.9 million approval for a Certificate of Necessity from the state,” said Smyrna Superintendent Patrik Williams. “The state’s share is 77 percent— so just over $2.2 [million]."

Williams says the money would allow the district to repair the roof and other parts of North Smyrna Elementary School. “Many of the pieces of equipment like the boiler, the air handler, the plumbing— they are all either at or beyond their lifespan, which would be about give or take twenty years,” he said. 

If the referendum passes, the repairs would cost the average taxpayer in the district roughly $3 per year based on a $200,000 market-value property. But Williams notes that with older district debt being paid off, the average taxpayer would not see an increase in their overall property taxes.

Williams says Smyrna’s enrollment is expected to continue growing — and the district hopes to seek another referendum to expand facilities in coming years. 

The neighboring Appoquinimink School District won a successful referendum to support a growing student population in December. 

 

Sophia Schmidt is a Delaware native. She comes to Delaware Public Media from NPR’s Weekend Edition in Washington, DC, where she produced arts, politics, science and culture interviews. She previously wrote about education and environment for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, MA. She graduated from Williams College, where she studied environmental policy and biology, and covered environmental events and local renewable energy for the college paper.
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