Bulk of $132 million plan would fund new high school

Delaware State News

DOVER — Capital School District residents will be asked to approve a $132 million referendum on March 2 after the school board unanimously approved a motion to move forward with it during Wednesday’s meeting.

"The emotion I feel for the opportunity to move forth and convince our citizens that we need a new high school now ... I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity ... and I want to thank you deeply and sincerely," district superintendent Dr. Michael D. Thomas said to the board after their approval.

"Of course there are other aspects to the referendum, but the high school is the overwhelming majority of the funding and it will be the cornerstone of the district and the community."

If approved, the referendum would fund the construction of a new Dover High School, site renovations at William Henry Middle, Booker T. Washington Elementary and Central Middle, the purchase or construction of a professional development office and the purchase or construction of a new maintenance building and receiving facility for the district.

Dr. Thomas said the referendum will ask voters for additional local funds to go towards the new high school, which he called "critical."

"The funding determined by the state formula (for referendums) will build the basic structure, but high schools have several special areas that require additional local dollars," he said.

"We want people decades from now to say ‘You put a lot of thought into this high school.’"

The need in the community for a state-of-the-art high school was one of several reasons Dr. Thomas gave for why Capital residents should support the referendum.

Four voting sights for the referendum were also approved by the board on Wednesday, including Hartly Elementary, South Dover Elementary, Towne Point Elementary and William Henry Middle.

The referendum will fund four main projects, though the bulk of the money will be used for the new high school.

According to the district, the total amount being sought for the high school is about $114 million, which includes nearly $70 million from the state, and $45 million from local funds, $15 million of which are "additional" local funds.

The site renovations for William Henry Middle, Booker T. Washington Elementary and Central Middle will cost $5.5 million total, about $3.9 million from the state and $1.7 from local funds.

The professional development and district office center will cost about $8.4 million, all of which will come from local funds. The maintenance and receiving facility for the district will also come strictly from local funds and will cost about $3.9 million.

District business manager Sean Sokolowski provided board members with a report on projected tax rates residents can expect if they approve the referendum.

The numbers are based on the assumption that voters approve the referendum in its entirety and therefore would be asked to fund about $59 million, while the state would provide about $73 million.

For instance, for fiscal year 2011, if the approximate market value for a home is $50,000, there would be a $27.19 increase per year in taxes.

For a home worth about $100,000, residents would see a $54.38 per year increase.

A home worth about $200,000 would see a $108.73 tax increase per year.

Homes worth about $300,000 would see an increase of $163.11 per year in taxes.

Mr. Sokolowski said the increases would generally decrease every fiscal year thereafter.

Dr. Thomas said if homeowners are interested in knowing how their tax rates would be affected by the referendum, they can contact Mr. Sokolowski at 672-1556.