The Cape Henlopen School District has a big funding request for the state’s Department of Education.
At a meeting of the Board of Education late last month, the district’s Director of Operations, Jason Hale, laid out three planned applications for certificates of necessity to expand two schools and make improvements to another.
Topping the list is a request for nearly $40 million in state funding to expand Cape Henlopen High School, adding space for another 600 students. Hale pointed out that the district continues to see enrollment increases as its part of Sussex County continues to see booming growth. He says the school is currently at 100% capacity.
“The increases that we've seen over the last several years may have steadied slightly, but we are still seeing increases where many other districts are seeing decreases,” he told board members.
Hale also noted that the district is no stranger to submitting this particular request.
“So over the last several years, there have not been any new projects approved at the state level,” he said. “And that's of course been a concern for us because, as we talked about the high school here, this will be the fourth time that we've made a submission for the high school.”
The total cost of the project is estimated to be $67.3 million. If the certificate of necessity is approved, the district would have to fund around $28 million of that.
The district is also asking for an expansion of Love Creek Elementary School at a total cost of $33.1 million, with the district paying about $13.2 million if the Department of Education grants the certificate of necessity. Hale says that the school is nearing 100% capacity.
Finally, the district is asking for about $15 million for improvements at Mariner Middle School, including new HVAC equipment and a new track.
If the Department of Education approves some or all of the certificates of necessity, the district will have to find a way to fund its share of the projects, by asking the voters for a tax increase via referendum. That could be a difficult pitch to voters. In March 2024, the district brought forward a referendum for operating expenses that failed with 54% of voters voting against it. A revised and scaled-back referendum two months later also failed, although by a slightly smaller margin.
Augmenting a potential referendum is a pot of money new to the district this year, collections from a school surcharge that state lawmakers approved this year. Hale said
“The money that is sitting in this account, whatever is in there, we would be able to offset the ask of a local tax,” he said.
He added that the fund has collected some $275,000 since July 1, and it is projected to bring in $2.5 million per year.
Board of Education members voted unanimously to submit all three certificate of necessity applications. A decision could come by mid-October.
