Appoquinimink referendum was the latest: Why attempts to raise school funds keep failing

When education-related elections are held in Delaware’s public school districts, it’s not always seats on the board of education that are at stake.

Though far less common, the results of referendums — which decide whether a district can raise taxes or purchase bonds to cover expenses — can have far greater consequences.

Over half of referendum measures have passed in Delaware in the past decade, election results show. But this year was different — and when voters in Appoquinimink School District chose to reject three proposed tax hikes on Dec. 12 at the last referendum of the year, they brought the overall approval rate for referendums in 2023 down to 15%.

Only Lake Forest School District, which proposed a single tax raise in May to pay for the addition of constables to all schools in the district, successfully passed a referendum. Caesar Rodney School District, like Appoquinimink, failed to pass all three referendum measures, leaving both districts without the funding they say they need to operate effectively.

In the case of Appoquinimink, Superintendent Matthew Burrows said that voters’ rejection of the referendum measures makes it impossible for the district to keep up with its exponential growth — almost 17% in the last five years.

He explained that the money would have gone to building new schools, improving safety, investing in technology and increasing teacher salaries to improve retention.

“I'd be remiss if I didn't say that it stings,” Burrows said. “These are things that are needed for kids and for staff.”

Caesar Rodney School District declined to comment.

THE LATEST: Appoquinimink voters say no to latest referendum looking to keep pace with 'rapid growth'

What is a referendum?

Public school districts in Delaware must hold a referendum if they want to raise taxes or be able to buy bonds to support school-related expenses, which can include anything from teacher salaries to building improvement.

Unlike many neighboring states, Delaware law does not allow school districts to raise taxes without holding a referendum. Legislators introduced bills that would grant Delaware school districts the ability to do so within limits in 2017 and 2019. Neither was signed into law.

So when a board of education determines that more funding is needed, they must contact the Department of Elections to begin the formal process of holding a referendum.

“There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes,” Burrows said.

Similarly to school board elections, anyone who lives in the district and is a U.S. citizen over the age of 18 can vote in referendums. They do not need to have a child or other relative attending school in the district – a fact that Burrow said often makes it hard to get tax increases approved.

When are the votes held?

While school board elections are typically held on a predetermined cycle based on term lengths, districts can choose to hold referendums at any time. Some districts, like Laurel and Capital, have not held referendums since 2010. Others have held multiple within the same calendar year.

Lake Forest School District Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kelemen said the infrequency of referendums in the district likely contributed to the success of the proposed tax hike in May. The district last held a referendum in 2014, which also passed.

Kelemen said that unlike fast-growing districts like Appoquinimink, Lake Forest’s operating expenses have stayed roughly the same in recent years. The school buildings, while old, have not needed extensive repairs or replacements, and they certainly didn’t face the strain of needing to construct new ones.

Because of this, the district’s latest referendum was focused on an issue unrelated to physical building space: safety. Spurred by general security concerns and following the fatal school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the district began holding town halls in 2022 to discuss the possibility of providing additional security measures beyond school resource officers.

The community expressed support and, after the district arranged an official referendum through the Department of Elections, almost 1,000 residents came out to vote.

The measure passed by a 63% margin.

Changes over time

Trends in referendum votes tend to vary over time. All 11 tax hikes proposed in 2020 and 2021 were passed by voters; but in 2019, less than half of the measures passed.

Only five of the 13 districts that have held referendums in the past decade have passed every proposed tax measure.

The difference between votes for and against specific measures also varies greatly across the state. One of the recent Appoquinimink votes failed by less than a 1% difference, the smallest in recent years. The same district also recorded the highest difference, with 2021 referendum results showing a 185% difference between votes for and against a tax raise.

The variability in results can motivate some districts to hold another referendum shortly after a failed one in the hopes of swaying voters and getting necessary funds in a timely manner.

It’s a strategy that Burrows said Appoquinimink School District plans to follow. But before the vote in the spring, Burrows said the district will host more town halls to hear the concerns of community members and make their case for the necessity of the measures.

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What comes next?

Holding a second referendum in the same calendar or school year after failing to pass measures has proven successful for some districts in recent years. After narrowly failing to pass a tax hike in 2016, a Brandywine School District referendum was approved by almost a 50% margin later that same year.

Christina, Colonial, Indian River, Milford and Woodbridge School Districts have found similar successes in the last decade.

Appoquinimink School District is not the only one with plans to host a referendum in 2024. Three New Castle County districts – Brandywine, Colonial and Red Clay – already have referendums slated for February. None of these districts have held a referendum in the last six years.

Caesar Rodney School District has not publicly shared plans to attempt to host another referendum in 2024.

Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on X at @h_edelman.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why school referendums in Delaware keep failing to raise taxes, money