The 38th District Republican Club will meet this TUESDAY, February 25th, at 6:30pm, at the Millville Community Center on Dukes Road. We rescheduled our 38th Club meeting to Tuesday to allow our guest speaker, the Indian River School District Superintendent, Dr. Owens, to address our group regarding the upcoming IR School District referendum vote to be held on March 20th.
Indian River School District Referendum
The Indian River School District will hold a Current Expense Referendum on Thursday, March 20, 2025. The referendum will seek funding for increased operating costs and the recruitment and retention of staff. With voter approval, the referendum will result in a tax INCREASE of $1.2105 per $100 of assessed property value.
To put this into perspective, for every $100,000 of assessed property value, you could expect an INCREASE, in ADDITION to, of $100 per year, to your school tax bill.
To prepare for our meeting with Dr. Owens, please review these short explanatory videos produced by the IRSD, which explain the referendum, property assessments, and fund allocation. My first question might be, how much did these infomercials cost? And how much does it cost taxpayers to hold a referendum?
Many people will support this referendum and the resulting increase in property taxes to fund it, believing it benefits our children. However, they may not fully understand the purpose of the referendum and how the additional funds will be used, namely the funds will be used for teacher salaries and extra-curricular activities, not improving scholastic performance.
Additionally, many voters are unaware of how inadequately our schools are preparing students, as IRSD has some of the lowest performance scores in reading and math nationwide, despite having some of the highest spending per student.
Governor Meyer Declares Literacy Emergency
The latest Nation’s Report Card shows that reading proficiency fell to a 27 year low for Delaware’s 8th graders. And math lack of proficiency is just as bad.
Improving reading and math proficiency needs to be the District’s most urgent priority. Lack of funding is not the issue, as IRSD and Delaware have some of the highest funding per student in the nation. Despite some of the highest funding per student, Delaware ranked 49th among states in math recovery and 47th in reading. Indian River remains more than a grade equivalent below their 2019 mean achievement in both math and reading.
See IRSD data on the DOE site:
42.26% proficient in English language arts
35.58% proficient in Mathematics
What Is The Solution?
There IS a solution. Mississippi and Louisiana are showing how improving education is done.
And it is to give principals and teachers freedom to teach, AND accountability for results. In Delaware, we don’t have either. We have seen this in action with the Wilmington Charter School led by principal, the late Ron Russo, who treated education like a business. He gave principals and teachers the freedom and responsibility to teach and to be rewarded with pay raises for students' improved performance, and consequences when students did not.
Over the last ten years, Mississippi, which was ranked 49th in 2013, is the only state to make gains across all performance levels in 4th grade reading. Mississippi now has the 7th-highest 4th grade reading scores overall, but they’re #1 for low-income students, #3 for Black students, and tied for #1 for Hispanic students.
Mississippi state superintendent of education, Dr. Lance Evans, said, “When we keep academic standards high, focus intensely on literacy, and ensure a strong accountability system for schools and districts, student achievement improves.”
Louisiana is the closest state to recovering from COVID-related declines in 8th grade reading and math, and it was the only state in which fourth-grade reading scores were higher in 2024 than in 2019. Louisiana has focused on adopting the Science of Reading. The resulting instruction typically includes a strong focus on structured phonics and vocabulary building. IRSD has implemented the Science of Reading program as well, but without the same success.
“During the last three fiscal years, our operating expenses have increased an average of 7.4 percent per year. During that same time period, revenue has increased by only 3.55 percent per year,” said IRSD Superintendent Dr. Jay Owens. “That trend is not sustainable and the district has been in a position of deficit spending for the past two fiscal years. Passage of this referendum is imperative if we are to continue the premier educational services currently being provided to our students.”
If you have questions and are unable to attend the meeting, please email your inquiries to info@38thdrcp.com. Potential questions are listed below.
Q: Have reductions in other budget areas been implemented to offset the deficit?
Q: Is the IR School District truly offering "premier educational services"? If that's the case, why are most of our students not meeting grade-level standards?
(See IRSD data on the DOE site: )
42.26% proficient in English language arts
35.58% proficient in Mathematics
NOTE: The IR School District avoided incurring debt from deficit spending thanks to federal funds received during the pandemic. However, these funds have been or will soon be exhausted.
"The Indian River School District strives to recruit and retain talented teachers and support staff. The district’s ability to fill nearly 100 percent of its instructional positions in the midst of a national teacher shortage is the direct result of a positive and supportive working environment and a competitive compensation package. Passage of the referendum will allow the district to continue offering a strong salary package that will attract talented educational professionals and maintain the quality educational services provided to students."
Q: How does the compensation package for IR School District compare to other teaching and non-teaching salaries in Sussex County?
Q: Is there an initiative to employ professionals who do not possess a specific teaching degree, enabling highly educated and experienced individuals to teach in schools? Since there is not, when might this be revised to ensure our students have access to the most experienced and educated teachers?
Q: What happens to ineffective educators? Are they given guidance or have their pay reduced due to students' poor performance? If we reward top teachers, are there repercussions for those who perform the worst?
Q: Regarding a national teacher shortage, what is the percentage of vacant teaching positions at IR School District? How does IR rank compared to the rest of Delaware and the nation with vacant teaching positions?
“The district has not implemented a tax increase for operating expenses since 2017 and we currently have the lowest school tax rate in Sussex County,” Dr. Owens said. “During the past eight years, we have exercised responsible spending and utilized federal ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds received as a result of the COVID pandemic. School districts build local reserve balances in the first few years following a current expense referendum. However, those reserves are eventually spent down as expenses increase and in Fiscal Year 2023, IRSD began operating at a budget deficit.
Superintendent Jay Owens said the timing isn’t great as Sussex County is in the middle of a court-ordered property reassessment process, which could raise property taxes for some.
“We know this is a big ask, and it's a tough decision for people to vote to raise their taxes,” Owens said. “However, we want to continue to provide an excellent service to our community, and I think our schools are doing that.”
Q: How will IR School District address the situation if the referendum does not pass to prevent operating with a deficit budget? What strategies will you implement to manage the budget deficit?
Q: If you believe our schools are delivering "excellent services", why are students underperforming? At Indian River school district, 42.26% are proficient in English Language Arts, and 35.58% are proficient in Mathematics, yet 80% are considered college and career ready. How many are truly admitted to a four-year college? Is there any information on average SAT scores?
Q: Regarding IR School District hasn't raised taxes since 2017, how frequently do you anticipate that IR School District will or should propose a tax increase, and what are the future projections?
Q: IRSD is among the districts that have completely adopted the Science of Reading, and their overall assessment scores are slightly above average. Is it likely that more programs like this will be introduced to aid reading and math?
“While we are pleased that we have not had to ask our community for a tax increase for several years, we have reached a point where we cannot sustain the high level of instructional services provided to our students under our current budget structure. If this referendum is not successful, we may be in a position to have to eliminate a significant portion of our workforce. This would almost certainly impact student services. As always, we sincerely appreciate the support and understanding of our IRSD community as we strive to create a bright future for our students.”
Q: Are you suggesting that if the referendum doesn't pass, the plan is to lay off teachers? Have there been reductions in administration salaries and positions?
Q: Given your suggestion that student services will be affected if the referendum fails, which specific student services do you anticipate will be impacted and in what ways?
Q: Might IR District contemplate reducing other programs, like sports, arts, or music, to preserve the essential math and reading curriculum?
Have more questions or comments? Come to the meeting! Or email info@38thdrcp.com. You can also email directly to referendum@irsd.k12.de.us.
Prepare to Vote Indian River School District Referendum
When:
Voting is on Thursday, March 20 from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
In the event of inclement weather, the referendum will be held on March 27.
Who Can Vote:
District residents who are U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age are eligible to vote at any of the eight local polling places. Voter registration is not required, but residents must provide proof of identification or residency at each polling place. Voters can also "affirm" residency and U.S. citizenship without proof.
Where: Residents may vote at any of the eight polling places:
East Millsboro Elementary School
Georgetown Elementary School
Indian River High School
Long Neck Elementary School
Lord Baltimore Elementary School
Selbyville Middle School
Sussex Central High School
Millville Community Center (32517 Dukes Drive, Millville).
Questions Re the Referendum:
For more information about the referendum, contact Indian River’s Referendum Hotline at (302) 436-1079 or visit the district’s special referendum web site. Questions can also be sent via e-mail to referendum@irsd.k12.de.us.
Additional Referendum Informational Meetings
In case you miss this informative meeting with the IR School District Superintendent, there will be three other opportunities to learn more about the upcoming referendum.
Monday, March 3 – Lord Baltimore Elementary School, 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 12 – Indian River High School, 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 13 – Sussex Central High School, 7:00 p.m.
Delaware Schools Performance References Published by Caesar Rodney Institute
According to an educational assessment released earlier this week, Delaware public school students are still below the grade-level achievement they had before the pandemic. That is the conclusion of the Education Recovery Scorecard, a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, and faculty at Dartmouth College. The analysis provides a snapshot of academic recovery in more than 8,700 school districts across 43 states in either math or reading achievement. The report builds on the recently released National Assessment of Education Progress (a.k.a. The Nation's Report Card) with state test results for roughly 35 million grade 3 to 8 students. This is the third year of reporting on the pace of academic recovery. As of Spring 2024, the average U.S. student remained nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in math and reading. Students are even further behind in reading than they were in 2022. The assessment found Delaware especially lacking, ranking it 49th among states in math recovery and 47th in reading recovery between 2019 and 2024. Not a single district in Delaware has returned to its 2019 levels in either math or reading. Students in The First State remain behind by an average of over four-fifths of a grade level in math after losing an initial 1.25 grade levels between 2019 and 2022. In reading, Delaware students are behind by over four-fifths of a grade level after losing just over an additional tenth of a grade level between 2022 and 2024. Reading is more of a concern because math scores show some recovery while reading scores do not. Nationally, 85 percent of students are in districts below 2019 levels in math, with only 15 percent above. Similarly, 89 percent of students are in districts below 2019 levels in reading, with only 11 percent above. The assessment also notes most districts across the country have experienced a rise in student absenteeism, with larger increases in low-income districts. Delaware is no exception. The report details a sharp rise in chronic absenteeism (students missing more than 10% of the school year) from 15% percent pre-pandemic (2019) to 26% percent in 2022. That number dropped slightly to 23% in 2023. NOTE: This article consists of edited material from news releases on the national and Delaware Education Recovery Scorecard. To read the complete releases, use these embedded links: U.S., Delaware. |
Next 38th Republican Club Meeting
Please save the date and mark your calendar for our next Mighty 38th Republican Club Meeting for Monday, March 24th, Location TBD. Meet and greet at 6:00pm and meeting start at 6:30pm.
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Upcoming Meetings
Sussex GOP Region Meeting, Monday, February 10th, 6:30pm, Millsboro Fire Hall
38th Club Meeting, March 24th, location tbd
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