The Indian River School District takes another shot at passing an operating expense referendum this year.
Residents rejected the initial referendum attempt in March by a 675-vote margin.
They’ll try again June 5th, still seeking to raise an additional $22.5 million dollars. If passed, taxpayers will see an average increase of about $22.40 per month or about $270 per year.
Superintendent Jay Owens is optimistic, despite the district not changing its ask.
Owens believed the district needs to make its case clearly, noting they already reduced staff by roughly 10 percent after the March referendum.
“So we'll continue to put our information out there so people are just really informed, and we hope they come and vote on June 5. And we hope they consider the impact of and the magnitude of this decision to generate the revenue needed to continue with our school system.”
The reductions included people working at the district office as well as school-based staffing. Owens said the board tried to minimize reductions in classrooms as much as they could.
Some newer temporary hires lost their jobs, and the district consolidated other positions. The board also decided to let some teaching positions go unfilled. More program cuts will follow if this second attempt fails.
If the referendum is not passed, another way the district could save money is by changing before and after school pay scales.
If approved, the funds will go toward operating expenses and offering staff competitive salary packages.
“We're living in a world now where it's difficult to find and maintain teachers, so we want to make sure we're able to keep pace with the demands across the county,” Owens said.
The district’s last successful referendum was in 2017 and superintendent Jay Owens said they waited three years longer than usual to come back to residents again.
Owens added that the board saw a lot of support at the March referendum and he hopes to capitalize on that by asking the community to approve the referendum three months later.
“We believe we are providing a great service to our students, and we want to continue to provide that,” Owens said. “So to do that, we need to make sure we are operating at an optimal level, and we need to make sure that we are providing a great salary package for our staff.”
Owens said he knows Sussex County’s property reassessment is already putting residents in a tough spot. But district operating expenses have gone up about 7.5 percent the last three years while revenue has only increased by about 3.5 percent.
Districts can only go to a referendum twice in a year’s time. If this one fails, Owens said the board would likely try again next March.
The district added new polling locations that can be found at its website.
