The Smyrna School District is preparing for a second vote on a proposed referendum to raise taxes. This follows the rejection in March of the district’s initial request for a tax hike intended to fund school expansion and operating expenses, including pay increases for teachers.
In the March vote, the Capital Referendum was defeated with 55% of the voters casting ballots against it. The funds from this referendum were earmarked for constructing a new elementary school, upgrading an intermediate school to a middle school, and expanding another elementary school. In a second question, 57% of the voters said no.
Based on an average assessed market value of $200,000, the Capital Referendum would have cost residents an additional $35.80 per year in FY 2025 and the Operating Referendum would have added $242.98 per year to the tax bill.
Voters are scheduled to return to the polls on Thursday, June 6, 2024, for the district’s second attempt to secure approval for the tax increase. This vote comes after the Smyrna City Council implemented a 100% increase in local property taxes, and residents have also begun receiving reassessment notices from Kent County.