At the January school board meeting, board members heard an update about the referendum which will be held on Wednesday, March 4. New Superintendent Dr. Corey Miklus also reported to the board about happenings in each of the schools.
“I want to thank all of the staff members who are working very hard on the referendum which we are holding in March,” said Miklus. “We are working very hard to get the information out to all of the community members and organizations so we can properly educate everyone about why the referendum is needed. We have several meetings scheduled so the community members can come out and see the data and ask questions.”
The district has received many questions about how much property owners’ taxes will increase. Eulinda Gallagher, the district’s director of finance, explained to the board how owners can find those answers.
“We have all the information on the district website at www.seafordbluejays.org under the referendum heading,” said Gallagher. “Each person can go there and find their assessment of their property and then to the tax calculator to see how much their tax will be. For example, a property assessed at $18,000 will have an increase of $10.15 per month or $121.86 per year. These rates are estimates based on numbers from the state and could be a little different.”
Miklus added, “We need the community to understand how to use this data. We will be explaining this at each of our workshops. The next one will be held on Feb. 10th, starting at 7 p.m. at Seaford High School.”
Board President David Tull addressed community concerns about teacher shortages in the schools.
“The board knows about our teacher shortages in our schools. I want to address the issue as to why this is happening. The State of Delaware is facing a state-wide teacher shortage. This is happening not only in Seaford, but in districts all over the state and across the nation. We know we are missing teachers and are working very hard to find teachers. This goes together with our referendum, because we need to be competitive with our teacher salaries,” said Tull.
Miklus reported about events at each of the schools.
“West Seaford Elementary held their PBS program for students with no office referrals. Blades Elementary at Chandler Heights Apartments will meet once a month. Other district’s have inquired about their Book Worms reading program. Central Elementary and District Teacher of the Year Laura Burks was also named VFW District Teacher of the Year. Fred Douglass had a very productive Professional Development Day with their teachers. Seaford Middle School’s girls’ and boys’ basketball team are doing very well, as is the wrestling team. SMS also held a talent show which was well attended. The high school is preparing for the SAT test and the senior class is discussing graduation and all winter sports are doing very well,” Miklus said.
