After state lawmakers passed legislation allowing voluntary school assessments in Sussex County back in September, districts wait to see if the County Council will implement it.
State Sen. Russ Huxtable introduced legislation in June to grant Sussex County the ability to utilize voluntary school assessments to help schools keep up with expansion costs as residency and development continues to grow.
A VSA is similar to an impact fee on residential development – requiring the developer to talk to school districts to see what financial impact increased development will have on schools, then a fee is used to help offset those costs.
New Castle County has had a VSA for almost 24 years and Kent County has had one for 17 years.
Huxtable notes Sussex school districts are all in favor of a VSA, but he’s not sure if there’s enough support yet on county council to put the measure on the agenda.
He says even if a referendum is still required for capital funding, a fee like this could help save taxpayers money.
“Let’s say there was a school that’s going to be built for $30 million, and there’s $10 million sitting in the pot designated to the Indian River School District – they’d be able to use those funds. And so when they go to a referendum, it would actually cost the taxpayers less," Huxtable said.
Although these fees will offer taxpayers relief when paying for schools’ capital needs, Huxtable says there’s still the issue of Sussex County’s high cost of living.
“If the educators can’t afford to live in our communities, then no matter the building that we build, if they can’t afford to live here, they can’t afford to work here," Huxtable said.
He says the recently implemented affordable rental program is a step in the right direction, but he looks forward to continuing to help find affordable housing solutions throughout the state.
