By Brooke Schultz

SMYRNA — Voters greenlit a new elementary school and expansions of two other schools in a Smyrna School District referendum Tuesday. 

The vote to levy taxes in an operational referendum passed 878-573, while the vote to issue bonds for the capital portion passed 930-529, according to the unofficial results. 

The district was seeking an increase of 25 cents per $100 of assessed property value in New Castle County and 32 cents per $100 of assessed property value in Kent County. The funds are estimated to raise about $2.5 million in fiscal year 2022. 

The average homeowner in both counties will see an increase of $119.85 to their taxes. 

Voters also passed the authorization for the issuance of bonds for capital improvements. The bonds are financed through an increase to property taxes taken over nearly three decades. The state is taking on a brunt of total cost for the project (77%), which is $90.9 million. 

Taxes won’t see an increase due to construction until 2024. The average taxpayer in both counties would actually see a reduction in the first two years ($2.40 and $5.97, respectively) due to other bonds retiring. Year three, the average taxpayer would see an increase of $13.16, year four would be $38.21 and year five would be $6.02. 

Every year after the fifth year, taxpayers would see a decrease.

The bonds allow for the purchase of land and the construction of a new elementary school. The school will sit on 15 acres across from Sunnyside Elementary and serve 600 students. The land purchase will occur in 2021.

The school will eventually serve all fourth and fifth grades in the Clayton school feeder pattern while the district works to turn Clayton Intermediate School into Clayton Middle School. 

Under the referendum, Clayton Intermediate School the school will see a 400 student addition, with an expanded cafeteria and locker rooms to allow for the school to transition to a middle school, eventually serving grades six through eight. It will allow Smyrna Middle to serve sixth graders, too.

Funds raised through the issuance of bonds will also allow for a 200 student addition to North Smyrna Elementary. 

The district most recently passed a referendum targeting capital improvements last year, which saw significantly less turnout than Tuesday’s vote. In that referendum, the district sought funding to renovate mechanical systems and replace the roof at North Smyrna Elementary School.