MIDDLETOWN — Residents in the Appoquinimink School District approved two referendum items designed to support capital and operating expenses Tuesday.

Roughly $66.6 million in capital funding was approved by a vote of 7,412-5,674. The funds will be allocated for building construction and expansion.

The $11.1 million ask for operating funds was granted 7,627-5,765 and will aid increased compensation for teachers.

The results were unofficial with the Delaware Department of Elections as of Wednesday morning.

Following the vote, the district released a statement that read: “The first item on the ballot focused on the updated operational request — most predominantly teacher and staff compensation. Other key areas for the operational request included safety and security, operational expenses due to growth, and maintaining student devices.

“The second item on the ballot focused on new buildings — with the addition of a middle school and high school on the Summit Campus and a new elementary school on Green Giant Road. These costs are shared with the State of Delaware — with the state covering 77%; the district covering 23% locally.”

Superintendent Matt Burrows added that he is “thrilled and relieved.”

“We are at a pivotal crossroads in our district. This vote ensures we can continue to deliver the highest-quality education to our growing district. Most importantly, this referendum ensures we can support our teachers and staff through more competitive compensation,” he stated.

“We are now in a position to build more schools to accommodate the growth in our district and narrow the pay gap between Appoquinimink teachers and the rest of New Castle County.”

School board president Michelle Wall concurred.

“Our community has shown that they believe in the Appoquinimink School District and the work that we are doing. As a School Board, we understood the gravity of this ask — but we also knew the importance.”

Appoquinimink’s referendum joined several others in the state recently. While voters failed to approve both items for Smyrna on March 9, the Colonial, Brandywine and Red Clay Consolidated districts were successful in their requests in February.

In Smyrna, another referendum vote will be held June 6.