School district explains referendum

By Sam Harvey
Staff Reporter

Director of Business and Finance Patrick Miller said they’d tentatively set the referendum vote for Tuesday, March 28.

Miller described the three parts as: 1) current expense, 2) salaries and employment and 3) capital projects, specifically roof repairs.

1) Under current expense, the district is primarily trying to raise money to offset fuel costs. “Utility, energy and fuel” accounts for 8.5 cents (per $100) out of the total 13 cents, and the district would levy that assessment in the first year.

The district’s also asking for a penny for (non-capital) building maintenance and repair initiatives in the first year. The remainder, 3.5 cents, would go toward expenses associated with middle-school reorganizations, plus books and other instructional supplies. That would be assessed in the second year.

2) The district is asking for 5.5 cents in the first year and 5.5 cents in the second year (11 cents in all) to help offset salary and employment costs.

3) Roof repairs at three district schools (Selbyville Middle School, Long Neck Elementary, North Georgetown Elementary) are slated to cost $4.2 million, overall. According to Miller, that puts the local share at $1.6 million. The district is asking 1.5 cents in the first year, declining thereafter.

Again, that all adds to 25.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value — 16.5 cents in the first year and 9 cents in the second year. The board unanimously approved the question as worded, and Board Member John Evans (who chairs the Finance Committee) thanked his colleagues for moving forward on the matter.

In other financial business, the board considered a letter from local Sen. George Howard Bunting (20th District), regarding use of the district’s Ingram Pond facility (Outdoor Education Center) as a possible source of revenue. Board Member Reggie Helms opened discussion regarding the possible sale or lease of part or all of the 179-acre property.

Miller had explained some of the drawbacks one week earlier and reiterated on Jan. 24 that the property had been purchased through a 60 percent/40 percent state/local partnership. Therefore, only 40 percent of the proceeds from any sale would come back to the district.

But the matter was more complicated than that, he added. First, the property would have to be declared surplus, and part of that process would mean giving any other interested state agencies first crack at it.

As Miller indicated, other agencies had already expressed an interest, so it was doubtful the property would ever reach the open market.

Council Member Nina Lou Bunting expressed distaste at the prospect of leasing the land for a manufactured home park, but Council Member Donna Mitchell countered that there were other ways to rent the property.

Mitchell suggested the district might consider turning Ingram Pond into a recreational area similar to the Trap Pond State Park near Laurel, which generates revenue from campground fees and other amenities. “Sen. Bunting said he wasn’t sure how much money we could get from this, but I don’t think we should reject the idea out of hand,” she said.

Board Member Harvey Walls gave a little history. He said the property was about two-thirds forested, but the district had sold off some timber at different times in the past – “not clearcut, but select cut,” he added.

As with selling the land, the district would share proceeds from either campground fees or timbering with the state.

In the past, they’d generated a little revenue by renting part of the property to farmers, Walls added, and he said Future Farmers of America (FFA) had been using the site more recently. However, they’d curtailed their activities in the face of increasing deer encroachment, and he suspected professional farmers would be even less interested in battling with the wildlife.

In other business, Walls reported from the Policy Committee, broaching a possible dress code for the district. At present, only one school (the Southern Delaware School of the Arts) has a dress code, but Walls garnered enough support to at least draft a policy.

Mitchell indicated she’d vote in favor of a district-wide dress code, saying she felt it cuts down on distractions. As Board Member Dr. Mark Isaacs reminded them, any such policy would have to make provisions for low-income families who might not be able to afford uniforms, but Mitchell suggested uniforms were actually less expensive than ordinary school clothes.

Board Member Dr. Donald Hattier seconded that. “If it’s ‘light blue or dark blue,’ it doesn’t really matter if it’s a $200 pair of slacks or a $5 Wal-Mart special,” he noted.

Also at the meeting:

• Administrator Jay Headman asked permission to open middle-school track programs to sixth-graders and received unanimous approval. Isaacs and Walls voiced concern regarding costs, but Headman said he didn’t anticipate any.

• Superintendent Lois Hobbs reminded everyone of the upcoming school board election, May 9. Anyone wishing to submit their candidacy needs to apply 60 days prior. Locally, Board President Charles Bireley’s term is up (District 4 encompasses a wedge south of the Indian River Bay, bounded by Dagsboro on the west and tapering eastward toward the state line between Selbyville and Fenwick Island).

• Board Member Maj. Randall Hughes, installed at the Jan. 24 meeting, said he intended to run for the open seat in District 3, for which there is still one year left on former Board Member Greg Hastings’ term. Although Hughes holds that seat at present, he still needs formal approval from the voters in May to take the open seat. (District 3 sprawls west-southwestward from the Rehoboth Bay, past Millsboro and Dagsboro.)