UPDATE: Votes are in, Cape Henlopen referendum passes

Voters have chosen to  to raise taxes in the Cape Henlopen District to pay for the renewal and rebuilding of elementary schools.

Sussex County officials say almost 4,000 voters turned out on Wednesday, the final tally 2,947-1,031.

Robert Fulton, the superintendent for the Cape Henlopen School District says, “What we’re asking for is reasonable. I think that what we’re going to get is a lot for the increase.”

The vote will raise taxes 33 cents per one-hundred dollars of the assessed home value in the district.  This would cover forty percent of the costs needed to renovate and rebuild elementary schools. They need a little more than $48 million and plan to raise that over the next four years.

Fulton says, “We’re growing one hundred students a year and we have to increase the size of our schools.”

The state is paying for the left over sixty percent of the project. The whole thing will cost more than $130 million. That would bring two new 270 student schools for Rehoboth and H.O. Brittingham Elementary, and renovations to Milton Elementary and The Lewes School. However, not everyone is as confident as Fulton.   

Toni Oddo says, “They just keep asking and asking for more money and more donations. I think there are other things they can actually spend the money on or cut the spending on towards what we need right now.”

That point seemed to be the biggest complaint amongst voters at the polls. Corel Stallings says, “I don’t like spending the money, but they need it for the expansion.”

Stallings says he reluctantly supported the measure, since his granddaughter would benefit from the passing of the referendum.

However, for voters like Catherine Wheeler, the decision was simple. She continues, “The younger ones are coming up so they should have better schools and more schools.”