Good afternoon,
We had a smattering of comments regarding yesterday’s column that advised the business community to pay close attention to a lawsuit over the school funding formula. One reader simply typed the word agree.
Another made an excellent point concerning referendum votes, another tradition in Delaware education.
Although the state constitution does not allow direct lawmaking through the initiative and referendum, an exception comes in funding schools via the property tax. Typically states use referendum votes for new or renovated buildings.
Wealthier districts with young families typically vote for referendums for new schools, while mature districts with a larger percentage of poor residents and seniors face an uphill battle. The pot is further sweetened by impact fees that are paid when new subdivisions go up and benefit fast-growing areas.
Referendum votes eventually pass north of the C&D canal after a couple of attempts but are usually the last resort in dealing with school buildings that are falling apart or in cases of a shortfall in operating budgets.
The reader also supports a property reassessment, a central argument in the lawsuit now in Chancery Court.
Reassessments should be revenue neutral but could result in some property owners seeing higher tax bills, for under-assessed properties, even though state law limits the size of the increase.
No one responded in favor of the current system. That’s no surprise. It is hard to make a case in favor of a four-decade-old formula that has widened the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Any further thoughts? Hit return on this message and type away. Unlike some news websites, your thoughts do not go to an unmonitored mailbox.
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