Cape district leaders urge support for VSA

Cape Henlopen School District Director of Finance Oliver Gumbs didn’t mince words at the Sept. 26 school board meeting when he said Sussex County Council’s failure to enact a voluntary school assessment is hurting not just Cape, but also all county students and teachers.

In January, council determined without a formal vote that a VSA would be a new tax and they would not move forward with an ordinance to create a school impact fee for new development.

“It’s not a tax,” Gumbs said. “The bottom line is it reduces the tax burden for our existing homeowners.”

Gumbs said he wanted to keep VSA discussions at the forefront, especially when he sees some of the things council is doing, because leaders at all Sussex schools remain consistent in supporting it despite their elected representatives’ opposition.

Both New Castle and Kent counties have long had VSAs or school impact fees to address capacity, Gumbs said. Developers, not current homeowners, he said, pay a fee per home to the Delaware Department of Education that can be used by districts that can demonstrate they are at capacity.

“And we have no problem demonstrating we are at capacity,” Gumbs said. 

Funds can be used for major projects like new schools or additions, he said, as well as for minor capital improvements less than $1 million such as HVAC repairs or replacement.

The fee is applied only to developments with more than six lots, he said, and cannot exceed 5% of the total cost of the home. Further, it cannot be applied to low-income or over-55 developments, he said.

Developers in the Cape district would pay a one-time fee of $15,655 per home, Gumbs said. The fee formula is based on what each district spends per child, Superintendent Bob Fulton said.

Council has approved 4,000 new homes in the Cape district since 2020, Gumbs said, showing slide after slide of developments recently approved in the Milton area. The VSA would not apply to all homes, he said, but if just 2,000 of those homes were eligible, the district could have received $31 million toward new or renovated schools if the VSA had been implemented in 2020. 

Gumbs referred to the recent certificate of need the district submitted to the state asking for the ability to expand Cape High with a 450-student capacity, 24-classroom addition. The expansion’s estimated cost is just under $79 million, and costs would be split 60/40, state/local, so about $31.5 million in local funds is required.

“You can do the math,” he said. “If that was implemented, that school is free for us for the local impact. That means we don’t raise the tax rate on our existing homeowners. It means people who are buying here are now contributing to the growth that we are experiencing.”

The state did its part, Gumbs said, noting that prior to Sussex County Council’s dismissal of the VSA, Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, and Rep. Stell Parker Selby, D-Milton, championed the bill that would enable the county to enact a VSA to address the impact of residential development on school capacity.

In a March letter to the Cape Gazette, Huxtable said he met both conditions Sussex officials required when he was drafting the bill; that it should be enabling legislation, not a mandate, and that the Delaware Association of School Administrators sign off on the bill. 

“One of the things I want to clarify for Sussex County Council, cause you’ll recall I went and spoke when they had the conversation about it, they feel like they’re imposing a tax,” Gumbs continued. “They’re not. They are the mechanism for collection of our property taxes, so all they’re doing is enacting the ordinance for us to receive these funds, if they apply. They’re not raising taxes.”

The issue is equity, Gumbs said. Right now, existing taxpayers are paying for all of the growth that’s occurring in the county, he said. The district needs the community to stay on top of this, take the issue to council and vote in November, he said.

Board Vice President Janis Hanwell said various groups across the state have been lobbying for the program’s implementation in Sussex County for at least seven years.

“So now, finally, the legislation came through – what, a year-and-a-half ago? – but the onus is on the county to put the system in place,” Hanwell said. “That’s where we haven’t made any headway.”

It’s a long time coming, Hanwell said, referring to the hundreds of homes developers have planned.

“We already don’t have the road infrastructure for this, but they’re killing our schools,” Hanwell said.

Rehoboth Elementary teacher Heather Farmer, speaking as the Cape Henlopen Education Association representative on the district Citizen Budget Oversight Committee, said the fees are important because teachers are being affected by continuous growth.

“With the referendums not passing, we’re losing out on so much money,” Farmer said. “Cape itself has lost out on $62 million. Sussex County has lost out on $100 million.

“These fees could help us so much, and we might not even need a referendum, so I really just encourage everybody to reach out to Sussex County Council, whoever is running, and vote for the ones that are going to enforce these fees that are rightfully ours,” she continued. “The developers are supposed to be paying them. New Castle and Kent are. Why is Sussex County not? We really need to advocate to get the money that schools deserve.”

Members of council will change, and the issue isn’t on their agenda, Gumbs said, noting it’s been swept under the rug. People have to vote for candidates that support the VSA, he said.

The issue has gotten more steam the past several months, Fulton said, noting he’s been asked to meet with individuals and candidates who are concerned about Sussex County not having a VSA.

If passed, the VSA would impact students county-wide with a ripple effect, said board member Jessica Tyndall said, noting all county children deserve it.

Karen Thorpe, chair of the Citizen Budget Oversight Committee, said she is a former school district business manager.

“I was in New Castle County, and we built a new elementary school using these funds,” Thorpe said.

The committee is looking at council candidates, she said, and is very much in favor of getting the ordinance through council.

Incumbent Councilman Mark Schaeffer has been challenged by candidate Jane Gruenebaum for the District 3 seat, which encompasses the Cape Henlopen School District.