The Smyrna School District is preparing to hold a tax referendum March 15.
If passed, the referendum would give the district additional operating funds to support staff, its new middle school and programs and extracurriculars. It would also cover safety and technology costs.
District voters rejected a similar operating budget referendum last March.
This new referendum is seeking to increase taxes about 39 cents for every $100 of a property’s assessed value for district residents in New Castle County and 9 cents for every $100 of a property’s assessed value for district residents in Kent County.
The district said this ask would raise the average tax bill by about $277 annually in both New Castle and Kent Counties, providing the district another $5.4 million in revenue in the first year.
The district’s interim superintendent Deb Judy acknowledged people are feeling the effects of inflation and rising taxes. The district passed a capital referendum last year on its second try while the town of Smyrna doubled its property taxes.
But Judy said supporting this tax increase would be money well-spent.
“We are the foundation of the Smyrna Clayton Kenton communities. As a school district, we are the largest employer. We do so much for our families, and without those highly qualified, talented, experienced educators, then our foundation will unfortunately have cracks.”
Judy added the district is already looking at a deficit of 40 positions.
“We as a district are at a point where we are not able to compete with our nearby districts, so teachers and staff are able to drive 20, 40 minutes to a district north or south of us and be paid more. They have to make a difficult decision for their family to leave a community that they love.”
The operational referendum would increase taxes about 39 cents for every $100 of a property’s assessed value in New Castle County and 9 cents for every $100 of a property’s assessed value in Kent County.
The referendum is set for March 15.
