The Colonial School District holds its tax referendum on February 29.
Colonial is asking residents to support a tax increase of 40 cents per $100 assessed property value for operating expenses, which will be implemented over three years – 25 cents in year one, 10 cents in year two, and five cents in year three.
The district is also asking residents for its 40 percent share of capital projects – about $48.8 million — and the state will provide the other 60 percent, $73.2 million.
If both measures pass, the average household would pay about $160 more in the first year, $278 the second, $316 the third, and $324 by FY2028.
Capital projects include replacing roofing, playground equipment, building security, and a new, multisport athletic complex at William Penn High School.
The district held a public forum Tuesday night to answer residents’ questions about the upcoming referendum.
Alyssa Wesley is a Colonial mom with a six and eight-year-old at Pleasantville Elementary School. She says she has been to every info session hoping to learn more about the referendum and says she will be supporting both asks.
“You’re supposed to invest in your community, you want to live in a good place, you want to be safe in a good place, you want to be in a place where you feel comfortable no matter where you go," Wesley says. "Sometimes it takes funds, sometimes it takes people to put out those funds, and we are part of that. We are taking care of our community by doing this.”
Donna Stevenson is a life-long Colonial resident and retired lunch lady from the district. She says she will be voting ‘yes’ for her grandchildren.
“There are many needs throughout the district and I think that the referendum should go through," she says. "Being that I have an eight-year-old who is in an elementary school, and that school was built back in 1952, it’s harder to fix, but it would be more costly to tear it down and build a new one.”
Superintendent Jeff Menzer says they’ve engaged more with the community since struggling with passing previous referendums in 2013 and 2017.
“We’ve learned, listened, and tried to be true to our word and be good stewards with the public’s money, but also demonstrate we are here to listen and do what is best for students and staff," Menzer says.
Colonial’s referendum is on February 29.
