Brandywine voters loudly support latest school funding boost in referendum

Brandywine hoped to keep pace with costs.

With no capital projects on deck in Tuesday's referendum, the New Castle County district asked voters to come to polls to approve more support for operations, updated technology and investment in school safety boosts. It was the first in a string of school funding votes coming in the next few months.

The system said stakes were high this year. Approval, representatives said ahead of the election, would be essential "to avoid devastating programmatic cuts and reduction of staff. … The depth and breadth of the cuts will be felt immediately throughout our schools and community, the impact of which will last for years."

And voters said yes. Loudly.

Brandywine voters said yes to an increase of 45 cents per $100 of assessed value, spread out over two years (25 cents in year one and 20 cents in year two) in Tuesday's vote. Preliminary results show 7,132 votes — or nearly 77% of final turnout — in approval and 2,197 against.

The last rate increase approved in 2016 was set to last only three years. Now, the move should raise some $15.6 million in local revenue to support ongoing district operations.

"Providing the current high level of programming, services and opportunities our students and parents enjoy and expect today, isn’t possible on the same funding needed to operate the district eight years ago," Brandywine School District wrote on its referendum page. "The successful passage of the Operational Referendum will ensure continuation of the work contained in our current District Success Plan, while preserving high priority (instruction)."

More to come on school funding: What you need to know about 6 upcoming school referendum votes across Delaware

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Voters say yes to Brandywine schools keeping up with operation costs