Our school tax referendum system is broken. Here's how we can fix it. (Opinion)
Rep. Earl Jaques, a Democrat, represents the 27th District, which includes Glasgow and surrounding areas. He is chairman of the House Education Committee and a member of the Southern Regional Education Board and other national education policy boards.
I love living in Delaware. There are so many wonderful amenities both inside the state and just a short drive away.
When you consider all the taxes that residents throughout the country pay — such as property, school, sales, etc. — Delaware is one of the lowest in the country in overall taxation.
During the last few decades, Delaware has ranked in the bottom 20 percent of all states. We have tried numerous methods to vastly improve our education system, with mixed results.
We all acknowledge that we have to do more, but we have not been able to agree on a solution.
Latest news:Christina School District referendum defeated
Last year, I chaired the Consolidation of School Districts Task Force. I believed at the time that was what we needed in order to improve education. But at each meeting during the public comment period, it became clear that the public liked its current local control system.
Although the task force didn’t recommend any consolidation, there were a lot of good suggestions on how we could improve various aspects of education, such as funding for K-3, English Language Learner (ELL), low-income and children with disabilities.
I applaud Governor Carney for his efforts to incorporate these critical needs in this year’s budget.
One of our findings was that parents, teachers and the public at large couldn’t understand many of the school district reports, which were completed 19 different ways. Last year, Sen. Dave Sokola and I authored SB 172 to give us more transparency. It was a good first step, but now we need more consistency.
I’m proposing that the data center prepare all district-wide reports, which will provide consistency for all districts across the state.
Our most significant problem today is providing operational money to our 19 public school districts. During the last several months, it has become apparent that school district referendums are becoming increasingly more difficult to pass.
Whether it’s due to a lack of voter education or an unwillingness to shoulder a higher tax burden, it is creating an untenable situation for our schools.
Because these referendums are hard to pass, school districts know it could be a long time before another one will pass, so they ask for more money than they currently need. By asking for more funds than they might need at that moment, districts’ referendums become more challenging to pass, and it becomes more difficult for them to rely on predictable operational revenue.
This is why I am introducing a bill that would allow school districts to modestly increase their rates for operating funds without a referendum.
To be fair to those on fixed incomes, the rate of the increase that a school district could raise taxes would be capped at the Consumer Price Index (CPI), or 2 percent, whichever is lower.
Delaware is only one of four states in the entire country that does not already use this method to fund operational cost, which is important for residents to note. We are behind the curve on this, and our schools and students are suffering as a result.
In addition, we have allowed our Vo-Tech school to work from a similar tax cap, and we haven’t seen problems crop up, while still meeting their operational funding needs.
To reiterate, this bill would only affect “operational funds.” Capital funds — such as building or renovating schools — would still require a referendum.
A companion to my bill is a bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Baumbach, which would shorten the term for school board members to three years and allow them to receive compensation for monthly board meetings from the state. This would put more power in residents’ hands, as they would be able to vote on school board members more frequently, rather than the five-year terms most currently receive.
I look forward to furthering the dialogue on these issues as we move forward. These are serious problems, and I hope we can work together to solve them. Our children are counting on us.
Have an opinion about education or a story idea? Contact Delaware Online's education reporter, Natalia Alamdari, at nalamdari@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2312.