Big thanks to Cape Henlopen School District Superintendent Bob Fulton for his presentation March 18 about the upcoming school referendum.
He and other public servants brought professionalism and care to their calculations, including thoughtful planning for staffing, classroom and office space, bus parking and simply keeping the lights on.
While some public debate has focused on the proposed swimming pool, the overwhelming majority of spending is simply for the district’s basic needs, especially hiring teachers and staff for a growing student population.
The district also skipped doing a referendum during the height of the pandemic in 2020, so while we are overdue for increasing our school budget, our associated taxes will remain among the lowest in the region, which is remarkable given the schools' strong performance.
Fulton also helpfully cleared up confusion about the assessed values of properties, which are far lower than market values. When assessed values increase, our school tax rates will be adjusted downward, a sensible policy that ensures schools can move ahead with budgeting rather than waiting for reassessments.
While such public meetings tend to attract people who are skeptical of school spending, I was nonetheless surprised by the hostile statements from some attendees, who seemed to think local government bodies are here to serve them personally or that they must know more about calculating school budgets than school professionals. Thankfully, educators are quite adept at handling disruptive comments, even when they come from other adults!
Voting against the referendum would place a great deal of unnecessary strain on faculty and students. Thankfully, past school referendums have passed with overwhelming support, and I hope this one does too. I look forward to enthusiastically voting for the referendum Tuesday, March 26.
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