The Indian River School District makes its second attempt to pass a current expense referendum Thursday.
Residents rejected the first referendum March 20 with a 675-vote margin.
The district has asked residents to approve the same referendum Thursday, which would give the district an additional $22.5 million if passed. That would cost the average local property owner an additional $22.40 monthly or $270 annually.
Indian River School District superintendent Jay Owens said if residents vote in favor of the referendum, the funds would go toward increased operating costs and staff salary packages.
“So things like utility expenses, transportation costs, substitutes, those types of things, all are on the rise, and we were unable to generate the revenue needed without the support of a referendum,” Owens said.
Operating expenses have increased by about 7.5 percent since the district’s last referendum in 2017, according to Owens, and revenue has not kept up, seeing a 3.5 percent growth in the same time.
Despite the initial loss, Owens said he is optimistic going into the vote.
“Drama, dance, robotics, mock trial – you name it, we believe we can offer it at Indian River,” Owens said. “And that's what makes our school system so great, and this funding helps us to maintain that level of service that we've been able to offer the last several years.”
Owens added if the referendum fails, the district will have to be very lean in its budget. That could include cuts to staffing and programming.
“We have made several reductions over the last few months, including discretionary budgets and payments to support extra pay for extra responsibilities for our staff. So those, those certainly would not be adjusted anytime soon. And again, continue to look at our staffing, our programs, et cetera. All things would need to be on the table just to ensure that we can continue to maintain our payroll.”
The district held three public meetings and several others with homeowners associations and civic organizations in Sussex County since the failed vote in March.
“Each one of those, we've gotten a great deal of positive feedback from the community members at large.”
Residents can choose between eight polling places – including two new locations – to vote Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
