WYOMING — On the same day Caesar Rodney students, alumni and employees will celebrate the district’s centennial at Rider Pride Day, Oct. 17, district residents will be faced with a serious question at the polls — to vote yes or no for a referendum to raise their tax rate.
Taxes for operations and capital projects, if approved, will increase the district’s rate by 57 cents per $100 of assessed value over a five-year period.
For a home assessed at $48,000, for example, the taxpayer’s increase would amount to $273 per year.
“We believe there is a sincere need and we hope our community recognizes that and supports us,” Superintendent Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald said.
In August, the CR school board voted unanimously to hold a referendum to address the current problems the school is facing, most notably overcrowding, non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and aging infrastructure.
Scott Wilson, a CR board member since 2013, called the referendum necessary tax hike.
“We’re in a situation where we have 16 teachers without classrooms, and a student body that’s one of the largest of the public districts in the state and it’s only going to keep growing,” he said. “It’s been a long time since the last increase and I wouldn’t have voted in favor of holding a referendum if I didn’t think it was necessary.”
Mr. Wilson added the high school’s freshman class has about 500 students and the addition of a freshman academy greatly would relieve the overcrowding in the current building.
The freshman academy would be a detached facility on the high school grounds housing freshman-only academics. The high school is running with about 200 more students than it was planned to accommodate.
W. Reily Brown Elementary on Webbs Lane is the only school in the district not running at or over capacity.
The last CR referendum that passed was in 2002 and the district has grown by more than 1,300 students and 170 teachers in the same time frame. Three failed referendums have been held since — in December 2005, March 2006 and May 2007.
In addition to failed referendums, CR has been receiving about $1.2 million less from the state in funding each year since 2008.
“$1.2 million is a lot to do without if you’re used to having that much money, so you have to do something,” said Dr. Ada Puzzo, the CR district director of business and finance.
Due to the reduced operating budget, the district has had to cut 19 staff including math, reading and technology teachers; reduce summer school opportunities and after-school help; and freeze building and operational budgets since 2008; and pursue alternative funding options like grants and improved energy efficiency.
The district has seen the budgetary crisis headed its way for several years and in May 2014, the Caesar Rodney school board voted to request a certificate of necessity from the Delaware Department of Education — the first step to begin construction.
A certificate of necessity certifies that a construction project is crucial and authorizes a district to hold a referendum to address its needs. The document also sets up the scope and cost limits for that project.
The certificate of necessity CR currently holds expires Oct. 30.
Where CR ranks
Of Delaware’s 16 school districts, CR is last in the per pupil tax rate at $604 per student (the highest rate is Cape Henlopen at $3,734) despite having the seventh largest enrollment numbers at 7,678.
If the referendum passes, CR will pass both Laurel and Delmar after the first year, collecting $974 per student and after the fifth year, CR will be ahead of Laurel, Delmar and Woodbridge, collecting $1,063.
These rates would go up through increased tax rates spread over a course of five years. At the end of the fifth year, taxpayers in the Caesar Rodney School District will see a total increase of $0.57 per every $100 of property tax.
The current fiscal year school tax rate for CR residents is $1.2350 per $100 of property tax.
Property taxes are based on a property’s assessed value which is determined through the county based on the last property assessment. In Kent County the last assessment was 1986.
If the referendum is passed, tax rates will increase beginning in the next fiscal year which starts July 1, 2016.
According to the Kent County Department of Finance, the first bills including the increased taxes would be mailed in August and due at the end of September.
When the August 2021 taxes are mailed out, CR residents will pay the highest school tax rate influenced by the referendum. But after 2021, school taxes will drop.
Through the increased tax rates, the district would collect an estimated $27.8 million for capital improvements over the next five years. With financial assistance from the state in the form of $59.2 million, the district hopes to raise a total of $86.9 million over the next five years — the cost and scope were determined in the certificate of necessity. That’s one-third from the district and two-thirds from the state for capital improvements.
Consequences
“If the referendum does not pass, the CRSD administration and school board has some very difficult decisions to make,” said Jessica Marelli, a school board member since 2014. “Most likely, we will immediately plan to decrease our programing and begin cutting positions across the district. Ultimately, our students and our community will feel the effects of these cuts.”
Dr. Puzzo said future budgetary problems that could make the district’s financial situation even worse are increasing health care costs, unfunded state and/or federal mandates, reductions in state funding and an unfreezing of the equalization formula which alone would lead to a total loss of $4.5 million.
More information about the referendum can be found online at crk12.org/referendum.