Nobody likes getting a surprise tax bill. After New Castle County’s first property reassessment in over 40 years, homeowners opened their mail to find tax increases that felt shocking—and understandably so. When your assessment jumps 477% overnight because it’s been frozen since the early 1980s, that sticker shock is real.

The legislature responded to homeowners’ concerns by passing House Bill 242, sponsored by Rep. Kimberly Williams and signed by Governor Matt Meyer. The bill allowed school districts to create separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties, increasing school taxes on apartment buildings by 39-70% depending on the district. The explicit goal was providing relief to homeowners.

What HB242 did not consider was the over 100,000 New Castle County residents who

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