Colonial, Red Clay Cash In Big On State Funding Requests

Red Clay and Colonial school districts were the biggest funding beneficiaries of this year’s certificate of necessity approvals.

The state Department of Education has made some school districts very happy by deeming their requests for state funding necessary to fulfill building projects.

For fiscal year 2025, the Department of Education approved 50 certificate of necessity requests, 44 of which involved state funding. They were concentrated in six districts.

Districts submit certificates of necessity each year to the department, typically asking for state money for capital projects and deferred maintenance on buildings that districts lack the local funds to address.

The department then determines if the money is in fact needed.

Sometimes, the certificate of necessity includes a smaller percentage of local funds. This often pushes the district to referendum, where district residents must approve a local tax increase to boost local revenue and fulfill the local share of the agreement with the state.

The local/state split is different for every district, but usually hovers around 65% state/35% district.

For example, in Colonial and Red Clay Consolidated school districts, the state pays 60% for these projects while the district pays for the other 40% in local funds.

For the Polytech School District, however, the state ponies up 71% of the funds, and the local share is just 29%.

The state approves certificates of necessity even if there is no state funding involved.

This is because the certificate of necessity provides the legal authorization for districts to hold a local referendum, said Alison May, public information officer at the Department of Education.

For this year’s cycle of requests, Red Clay – which hasn’t been approved in a decade – and Colonial were big winners.

Jose Matthews, president of Red Clay’s board of education, has said the approval is long overdue, since some of the district’s buildings are in bad shape.

Red Clay will have a referendum Feb. 28, 2024 to try to raise taxes about $404 over three years for the average homeowner.

“Operationally, this gives us the chance to ensure we can attract and keep high quality educators, and give our support staff livable wages,” Matthews added.

Red Clay will have a referendum Feb. 28, 2024 to try to raise taxes about $404 over three years for the average homeowner.

For certificates of necessity, the local share must be fulfilled in order for the district to receive the state share.

If a referendum fails, Delaware code allows Red Clay to try again a few months later. If the referendum fails a second time, the state will withdraw the offer.

The funding must be put into the state’s annual Bond and Capital Improvement Act in order for the districts to receive it.

Jeff Menzer, superintendent of Colonial School District, said the district was grateful for the support and investment from the state of Delaware.

“In order to keep the momentum going and continue to provide our students with world class staff, top notch programs and safe and engaging environments, we need additional operating funds,” Menzer said.

Here’s a list of which districts were approved and how much they were approved for:

Appoquinimink: $223,177,971 in state funds

$38,788,388 for a new elementary school at the Green Giant Road Site. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$184,389,583 for a new Summit Campus middle school and high school. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.

Brandywine: $60,400,000 in state funds

$60,400,000 for the Charles W. Bush Early Education Center.

Christina: $5,503,609 in state funds

$5,503,609 for the renovations of the Delaware School for the Deaf. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.

Colonial: $73,449,859 in state funds

$5,010,060 for the renovations of Calvin R. McCullough Middle School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.
$1,605,647 for the renovations of Carrie Downie Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2028.
$694,356 for the renovations of Castle Hills Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2028.
$1,699,531 for the renovations of George Read Middle School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$2,898,240 for the renovations of Gunning Bedford Middle School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$421,923 for the renovations of Harry O. Eisenberg Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$2,415,890 for the renovations of Kathleen H. Wilbur Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2028.
$6,614,028 for the renovations of New Castle Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.
$2,813,778 for the renovations of Pleasantville Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$4,413,507 for the renovations of Southern Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$1,368,263 for the renovations of Wallace Wallin School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$40,601,042 for the renovations of William Penn High School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$2,893,594 for the renovations of Wilmington Manor Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.

Polytech: $2,953,097 in state funds

$2,499,224 for roof replacement at Polytech High School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$453,873 for the exterior walkway at Polytech High School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.

Red Clay Consolidated: $192,309,981 in state funds

$10,079,502 for the renovations of A.I. duPont High School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$4,567,390 for the renovations of A.I. duPont Middle School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$8,142,581 for the renovations of Anna P. Mote Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$17,261,003 for the renovations of Austin D. Baltz Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$6,087,814 for the renovations of Brandywine Springs School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$15,708,013 for the renovations of the Cab Calloway School of the Arts. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$13,927,316 for the renovations of the Conrad Schools of Science. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.
$6,709,922 for the renovations of Forest Oak Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.
$8,998,730 for the renovations of HB duPont Middle School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$3,418,310 for the renovations of Heritage Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$8,742,957 for the renovations of the John Dickinson School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$4,046,016 for the renovations of Joseph E. Johnson Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$5,762,386 for the renovations of Lewis Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$6,936,930 for the renovations of Linden Hill Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.
$6,905,980 for the renovations of Marbrook Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$2,076,704 for the renovations of the Meadowood School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$337,453 for the renovations of the Meadowood School Extension. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$2,485,367 for the renovations of North Star Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$7,602,692 for the renovations of Richardson Park Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.
$5,527,799 for the renovations of Richey Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$4,366,113 for the renovations of the Shortlidge Academy. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2027.
$6,745,967 for the renovations of Skyline Middle School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.
$10,531,235 for the renovations of Stanton Middle School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$14,122,885 for the renovations of Thomas McKean High School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2025.
$11,218,916 for the renovations of Warner Elementary School. The project is expected to start in fiscal year 2026.

Colonial, Red Clay biggest winners in state funding requests

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