Delaware allows residents within a school district to vote on proposed changes to the operating expense tax and debt service tax — two taxes that form the overall school tax that property owners pay. Residents don’t have to own property themselves or have students in schools to cast a vote. These taxes generate money for school operations and capital improvements.
Now the April 22 referendum will come with three items focusing on capital improvement and operating costs. At a glance:
Maybe, maybe not.
The First State is coordinating a statewide reassessment of property values both residential and commercial for the first time since the 1980s.
Data collection began in 2021 after a judge ruled Delaware’s property tax system was unconstitutional. Kent and Sussex counties are now set to release finalized reassessments by 2024, while New Castle eyes 2025. All three counties hired the firm Tyler Technologies to carry out the assessment. And for Kent, initial or tentative notices of new property values are expected this year.
