The Appoquinimink Board of Education voted to reduce the annual tax warrant at the June 9 meeting.
The tax warrant will be reduced by 3.77 cents for every $100 of assessed value.
That means there will be a reduction of 2.5 percent in Appoquinimink School District’s tax bills and for the average single-family homeowner.
Dr. Chuck Longfellow, director of finance for the district, said a combination of factors made the reduction possible this year, and the benefit is putting more money into homeowners’ pockets.
“First, we were able to reduce the tuition tax,” he said. “Tuition tax represents the amount needed to fund placements for students facing educational challenges that couldn’t be met with our district.”
Longfellow said the total rate now is $1.4720, which is down from $1.5097.
“It’s nice to be able to reduce the rate for the Appoquinimink school taxes at a time where people are seeing other components of their property tax increase,” he said.
Longfellow said part of the decrease is due the district to paying off some of the bonds and managing the debt service funds. Another part is due to a slight reduction in funding needed for private special education placements and in-district special education expenditures.
“We hope that to some large degree, a future decrease should offset any taxes we may need for the next capital referendum,” he stated in an email message. “We really need the referendum to pass because even with slower home sales, our district is still growing, especially at the early childhood and elementary levels.”
Longfellow said some of this is a result of economies of scale and the district has been successful in expanding capabilities to serve learners with special needs.
“I think everyone will share my excitement when I announce that in May, we completed payment of a 20-year bond that was used to finance the construction of Middletown High School and Cedar Lane Elementary School,” he said.
Longfellow said these schools were the first major projects undertaken in the district as a result of housing growth.
He said over the next few years, the district expects to see more long-term debt retired, which provides additional relief for taxpayers.
Superintendent Dr. Tony Marchio said school districts have a responsibility to be fiscally conscientious.
“It’s our job to give back to the community whenever possible,” he said. “I have to say it feels good knowing we can ease the burden of school taxes in a year when so many other costs are on the rise.”
Marchio stated in an email message that the district has been very conservative in their spending and especially attentive to containing employee costs by not hiring above and beyond what the district allocated by Delaware’s funding formula.
“Many of our residents have lost jobs or had drastic pay reductions, and every little bit helps when times are difficult,” he said.
Marchio said the residents of the district have been very generous with supporting the schools and providing quality education for the children.
“We need to show our appreciation by being good stewards of their money and providing relief whenever we can,” he said.
Odessa, Del. —
