Newark post. (Newark, Del.) 1910-1969, 1917-01-24
FOUR SCHOOL TAX
- SYSTEM SHOULD BE CHANGED
FACTS PUBLISHED BY STATE BOARD OF EDU.
CATION
h II

demand for revision Of the
School Tax System of Delaware, is
a pamphlet recently issued by the
State Board of Education giving
a detailed review of the present
system and the reasons that make
a change Imperative:
At present the school assess
ment is usually made by the clerk
of the school committee, and is
supposed to be made each year
upon view of the property assess
ed. At the annual meeting in each
school district the voters deter
mine what sum of money shall be
raised by taxation for the next
school year, and then the school
commissioners determine the tax
rate. The assessor enters in the
assessment list the names of all
voters and property owners OF the
school district, and assesses
against each property owner, the
clear rental value of real estate,
the value of his Personal Property
and the value known as Capilation
Tax Assessment against each
voter. The law expressly requires
that these assessments of value
shall be made upon view of the
property, and may not be copied
from the Assessment List for the
Hundred within which the prop
erty is situate. This list of assess
ment or entry of values of prop
erty owned within the school dis
trict by the respective voters or
owners, is called the School Tax
Assessment List. They are not
recorded except in the rare inst
ances of a very careful School
Committee or clerk. Often the
only account of taxes levied, sums
paid and of sums still owing, is
kept on the Assessment List. After
the district account with the State
Auditor is closed, these lists are
generally laid away, lost and for
gotten, and thereafter it becomes
impossible to learn what amount
of school taxes are levied, of the
amount levied what amount was
paid, who had paid and who had
not paid school taxes, and who had
been excused or eXOnerated from
payment.
Upon the total amount of values
assessed for each of the three
forms of property values specified
for assessment, the School Com
mittee fixes the tax rate for the
given year, after it has been de-
cided whether only the 500 re-
quired by the school law to be
raised locally in each district shall
be raised, or whether a larger sum
than 500 shall be raised by tax
alton. After the tax rate has been
fixed for the year, each kind OF
property value must pay school
tax at the rate fixed on its assess
ed value, so that upon all kinds OF
property value the rate is uniform
within the school district. In diff.
ferent school districts the tax rate
varies just as much as the valua'
tions vary.
In all the counties, relating tc
the county taxes, there is an AS
sessment List. In this County AS
sessment List the voters and prop
erty owners are listed, and OPP
posite each name entered on the
list. is an entry of the real estate
and personal property owned, anc
of Capitation Tax Assessment
Cor amount). The only difference
between the County Assessment
List and the School Assessment
List is, that real estate is entered
at real value in the County AS
sessment instead of at its 'renta
value This difference results il
making the total of values in thu
School Assessment List very mucf
smaller than are the total values
for exactly the same property ant
persons within the identical are;
for the County Assessment List.
The State Board bulletin pre-
sents two lists of figures, the as
sessment values for exactly tn
same persons or taxables in
school district in New Castl
County, and in the County Assess
ment List for the Hundred within
which the school district lies. TIL
County taxed for it's purposes tn
table shows, S49,99O.00, and tn
school district for it's purposes, TO
the same persons and the sam
property within the same area, tax
ed S13,655.00. The school distric