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Board approves preliminary FY26 budget and tax rate; officials cite reassessment and revenue-neutral aim
Summary
Seaford School District trustees approved a preliminary FY26 budget and tax-rate filing on June 16, with staff stressing the apparent drop in rate reflects county property reassessments and is intended to be revenue-neutral; final budget will follow state budget and unit-count finalization.
SEAFORD, Del. — The Seaford School District Board of Education on June 16 approved a preliminary fiscal year 2026 budget and the district's tax-rate filing, pending final state budget action and county reassessment reconciliation.
Finance staff presented packet figures and told the board that county property reassessments required recalibrating the tax rate so the district's revenue would be effectively neutral despite large changes in assessed property values. In the meeting packet staff highlighted the tax rate figure presented for FY26 (noted in materials as 0.3104 per $100 of assessed value) and explained the numerical change compared with prior-year numbers reflects reassessment math rather than a straightforward increase or decrease in collections.
Why it matters: The preliminary budget and tax rate establish the district's spending framework for the coming year and allow staff to proceed with summer contracts, payroll and grant matching. Staff and board emphasized that the FY26 numbers are preliminary; final numbers depend on the governor's budget, the Joint Finance Committee action and the district's unit-count certification later in the year.
Discussion highlights
- Revenue-neutral aim: Presenters said the apparent drop in the tax rate arises because reassessments increased property values overall, which requires a lower rate to keep district revenue approximately constant. - Iterative process: Finance staff described repeated recalculations as county and state numbers arrived, noting the board's preliminary vote ensures the district can continue operations July 1 while permitting later adjustments. - Near-term impact: Staff said a small variance remained between preliminary estimate and final numbers (one presenter noted the district was under by roughly $8,000 in the most recent run of figures) and that the board would see updated figures later in the year.
Board action: The board voted to approve the FY26 tax-rate filing and the district's preliminary FY26 budget by voice vote. The district will return to the board with a final budget after state budget action and unit-count verification.
Next steps: Finance will update the preliminary budget once state budget and unit-count figures are final and report to the board for final adoption; staff also will monitor tax-collection reporting and any required adjustments.
