DOVER (WJER) - Dover school officials are once again asking voters to approve a 6.9-mill emergency operating levy appearing on the November ballot. 

Treasurer Andrew Bache says the board unanimously passed the second resolution to put the tax increase in front of voters, the same one they voted down in May. Bache says cuts made by the district have extended their deficit timeframe by a year, but he says they will still need relief before that happens.

“The gap between our revenues and expenditures continues to widen after that. Obviously, the expenditures continue to grow, and our revenues remain relatively flat. Now, we did end Fiscal Year 19 with a cash balance $5.4-million but considering all the deficit spending amounts I alluded to earlier, we’ll be in the red in Fiscal Year 22,” he says. 

The levy would generate $1.6-million annually and raise property taxes for the owner of a $100,000 home by $20 a month.
 
“Next in the process is getting together with the levy committee and identifying a strategy, where we want to go from here, what’s worked in the past and what hasn’t, so really just talking strategy at this point,” he says.

The school district’s previous 6.9-mill levy during the last election failed by more than a thousand votes. Bache says if this levy would fail they will have to cut back even more, which would affect class sizes, extracurricular activities, and more for students. 

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