First Laurel School District current expense referendum in 40 years set for February 9

The Laurel School District will hold its first current expense referendum since 1985 on Feb. 9. The referendum will be held from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Laurel Elementary School and North Laurel Early Learning Academy, and possibly the Laurel Fire Hall.

Laurel Superintendent Dr. Shawn Larrimore made a budget presentation to the district’s staff Tuesday morning following a presentation at last Wednesday’s school board meeting.

The district held a debt service referendum to fund the construction of a new school in 2011/12, but it has not held a current expense referendum in 40 years. Debt service and current expense rates can only be increased by a successful referendum. Debt service funds construction and building costs while current expense pays other bills associated with running a school district.

Laurel High School’s FFA students were recognized during last Wednesday’s Laurel School Board meeting for competing at Nationals. Shown are: Dr. Shawn Larrimore (Superintendent), Brent Nichols (Laurel board), Sabrina Taylor Isler (Laurel board), Dr. Matthew Wood (FFA Advisor), Sydney Simmons (FFA Advisor), Brynnen Thompson, Destinie McCrea, Karsyn Pete, Joey Nowotny, Kim Ralph (Laurel board), Jana Pugh (Laurel board), Linda Hitchens (Laurel board), and Ashley Q. Giska (Asst. Supt.)

Laurel’s current expense tax revenue is now $12.3 million with a rate of about 10 and a half cents per $100 of assessed value. The district also has $4.5 million in reserves.

Since 2000, the following Sussex County School Districts have held current expense referendums: Delmar (2-for-2), Seaford (3-for-4), Woodbridge (3-for-7), Milford (2-for-4), Indian River (4-for-11), and Cape Henlopen (4-for-6). Sussex Tech has also had nine increases without a referendum.

Larrimore indicated that if the district continues to fund operations without a referendum, it would run out of money by the 2029-30 school year.

“Nobody is losing their jobs today or for the foreseeable future,” he told staff members. “We can’t afford to wait three or four to five years because we’ve waited 40 years.”

Larrimore reported that a one penny rate increase generates $220,669 in the Laurel School District compared to over $13 million in the Sussex Tech School District.

He also said that Laurel receives more money in equalization funds each year ($3,143,244) than it does in tax revenue ($2,332,475). The district’s revenue per student is $2,191 while Sussex Tech’s is $9,781. The Laurel School District currently has a five percent increase in taxes each year to give staff pay increases, among other costs.

The current expense referendum will address three areas: stabilization of budget (the district has a deficit of about $500,000 every year); compensation (a seven percent wage increase for employees); and operations (to replace COVID grants that have gone away).

Larrimore said a rising school population has created the need for stabilization. The district has seen a 19 percent increase in population since 2013, resulting in the need for more teachers. The district generates a teaching unit with every 18 additional students. The state funds 70 percent  of that cost with the district funding the other 30 percent.

Laurel has gone from 2,135 students in 2013 to 2,544 now while the staff has increased from 213 to 249, not counting staff funded by grants. The district has seen a 45 percent increase in payroll (from $1.57 million to $2.27 million) while revenue has increased 21 percent during that time (from $1.9 million to $2.3 million) Larrimore said the 2013 staff would cost 25 percent more in 2025.

He also pointed to inflation, which has risen 200 percent, and mandated costs such as students with disabilities (26 percent increase since 2013) and multilingual students (224 percent increase from 2015) as well as the rising cost of benefits

As for compensation, Laurel has the lowest average pay among Sussex County School Districts and the largest percent of vacancies. Twenty-five percent of teacher vacancies at Sussex County schools are in Laurel.

Laurel is eighth out of eight among county school districts for salaries for teachers with 10 years of experience and a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

The district is no longer receiving ESSER money to fund cost of operations as the grant, which came from COVID funding, has expired.

The district is seeking a nearly seven and a half percent current expense rate increase (to .1799) for the following expenses: stabilization- $614,487; compensation for staff- $598,195; operations- student tech- $218,791; and safety and security- $200,559, for a total of $1,632,032-.

Laurel’s average assessment value is $230,527. For the average resident, the increase would be $171 per year, $14.25 per month, and .47 per day

“Our current expense rate is not out of line (with other districts) if this passes,” Larrimore said.

Larrimore said that if the referendum passes, it would stabilize the district’s budget, give a seven percent increase for all staff, and fund student technology and safety and security.

An unsuccessful referendum may result in budget cuts, staff layoffs, extracurricular cuts, more teacher vacancies, and less funding for technology and safety and security.