School taxes are going up this year, and school officials expect incremental increase over the next five years.

Property owners in the Smyrna School District who live in Kent County will see a 7.9 percent increase in the Smyrna school portion of their property tax this year, while those in New Castle County are looking at a 9.5 percent hike.

The increase, which will be approximately $50 for the average homeowner in the school district, was approved 4-0 at a special meeting of the Smyrna School Board on July 7. The fifth board member, Lynne Newlin, was not present.

Taxpayers in Kent County will be billed $1.1967 per hundred dollars of assessed property value, and taxpayers in New Castle County will pay $1.1803 per hundred dollars of assessed value, up from $1.109 in Kent and $1.078 in New Castle.

The rate increase means the school tax bill for home with an assessed value of $50,000 (which translates to a market value of approximately $230,000) would be $598.35 in Kent County and $590.15 in New Castle County.

Although the rates in each county are different, the taxes are comparable because the two counties assess value differently.

The increase is due primarily to the taxpayer-approved $95 million March 2007 referendum. The referendum will fund renovations and additions to the high school and a new intermediate school in Clayton.

“The bulk of these changes puts into effect what was approved in the referendum,” said newly appointed Board President Jeff Clark.

Finance Director Jerry Gallagher said he anticipates a tax increase for the next five years before the rate levels off and eventually, begins to dip back down, he said.

The board held the special July meeting, as it does every year, to approve the tax rate before the July 10 deadline and after the state budget was approved on July 1.

“We waited until July in case anything came up in the budget or bond bill that warranted a change,” Gallagher said.

To calculate your Smyrna school taxes with the increase, multiply the assessed value of your house by 0.011967 in Kent County or 0.011803 in New Castle County.

Be sure to use the value as assessed by the county. The towns of Smyrna and Clayton use different assessments for their taxes.

Legislature allocates $35 million in construction funds

In other Smyrna School District news, the state legislature allocated $30 million in its 2009 budget for construction at Smyrna High School, one of two projects approved by district residents in the March 2007 referendum. The total referendum, in the amount of $95 million, will be funded over several years. Last year, the legislature allocated $10 million.

Since the school district is responsible for funding 20 percent of the project, the board authorized the sale of $6 million in school building bonds.

The state legislature has also allotted $5 million for the Clayton intermediate school project, the second part of the March 2007 referendum.

“These are earmarked funds,” Gallagher said. “The expectation is that we won’t receive these funds until sometime in the spring.”

Board reorganizes

At the July 7 meeting, the board selected Jeff Clark as board president and Chris Malec as vice president.

Field trip approved

The board also approved a field trip for the Smyrna High chapter of Business Professionals of America to attend the National Leadership Conference to Dallas next May.