What is a voluntary school assessment and why did Sussex County reject it?

The Sussex County Council has declined to enact a voluntary school assessment, which would require developers to pay a per-unit fee to help schools keep up with the number of students they’re serving.

Cape Henlopen School District Financial Director Oliver Gumbs, speaking on behalf of all Sussex school district financial officers, urged the council to support an assessment in early January.

“This is vital for helping us keep the tax rate lower for existing constituents within all of our school districts. It would have a significant impact due to all of the growth,” Gumbs said.

The Cape school district alone has grown by over 500 students in the last three years, which is equal to one new school, according to Gumbs.

Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, managed to push through legislation last year to allow Sussex, like New Castle County, “to address the impact of residential development on school capacity.” Gov. Carney signed it in September.

In declining to codify a voluntary school assessment in Sussex, County Councilman Mark Schaeffer said funding schools is the state’s job, not the county’s, and legislators are merely “kicking the can down the road.”

What is a voluntary school assessment?

Delaware Department of Education representative Jamie Mack explained voluntary school assessments to the council. They are a fee "paid by developers to school districts to support school construction, maintenance and operations,” he said.

Developers can pay the state-calculated fee or donate land of an equal value instead, but Mack said the land option has only been used once so far.

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The fee per housing unit is the result of multiplying three items. The first is the average cost per child for a new public school, which is recalculated annually in the spring. The second is the local percentage share for the relevant school district. That product is then multiplied by 0.5, which represents the average number of school-aged children projected to be housed within each residential unit.

For example, in the Cape Henlopen School District, the cost per student is $31,310.80 and the local share is 40%, which would make fiscal year 2024’s voluntary school assessment fee $15,655 per unit, according to Department of Education spokesperson Allison May.

In addition, the legislation states that the assessment may not exceed 5% of the unit cost, so units that cost less than $313,100 (using this year’s calculation numbers) would require a lower fee.

Voluntary school assessments do not apply to homes in developments that are “restricted by recorded covenants to provide 31 housing or shelter predominantly for individuals 55 years of age or older,” the legislation states, or low-income housing.

The fee applies only to new major subdivisions and is paid for by developers, though it is probably fair to assume the assessment cost would be included in new home prices.

Why the Sussex County Council rejected a voluntary school assessment

The council discussed the possibility of codifying a voluntary school assessment in Sussex at a late January meeting.

Schaeffer commented that he has “always supported our kids and our teachers,” but “building classrooms is the responsibility of the legislature and the state.”

He made several incorrect claims to support his opposition, saying the assessment would cost between $17,000 and $18,000 per housing unit and “exempts people 55 and older.”

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Schaeffer continued to disparage a local newspaper's editorial for supporting the assessment and said staff should “lobby the legislature to fix the problem.”

Councilman John Rieley agreed the state’s voluntary school assessment fee is “flawed.” The fee is layered on top of Delaware’s 4% realty transfer tax, "which is the highest in the nation," and the statewide property tax reassessment, he pointed out.

"Not to mention the state's been running million-dollar surpluses for several years now and it is their responsibility to fund schools, not the county," Rieley said.

Council President Michael Vincent called the assessment "a new tax, plain and simple," but also incorrectly claimed it would add more than $15,000 to the cost of every new home built in a major subdivision, regardless of price.

"This law will not fix Delaware's systemic education funding failures," Vincent said.

Councilwoman Cynthia Green agreed with her co-council members, while Councilman Doug Hudson recused himself from the conversation due to a “possible conflict of interest.”

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why Sussex County declined to force developers to help pay for schools