An overhaul of how schools collect property taxes is one step closer to Governor Matt Meyer’s desk.
Senate Pro Tem Dave Sokola’s SB 322 made it through the senate with bipartisan support, after attempts to get referenda reform through the general assembly struggled in the past.
Under the bill, districts would be allowed to increase tax rates by 2% annually as long as a district’s revenue is not more than 10 times what it has in operational reserves. It would also repeal the up to 10% increase in school property tax for operations a district can currently take following property reassessment.
"Because our districts derived about a third of their funding from local property taxes, school districts for decades have had to rely entirely on Delaware’s referenda system," he said.
The 2 percent rate increase would not take effect until after the next property assessment in 2031.
The chair of the Public Education Funding Commission, senator Laura Sturgeon, supported the measure during plans to revise Delaware’s school funding formula. And she asked to be added as a senate co-sponsor.
