Brandywine School District Superintendent Mark Holodick presented his administration’s recommendations for $8 million in cuts should the district’s second try at its referendum this year fail next month.
Holodick stresses that $8 million is a significant figure, the most amount of cuts he says the district has ever faced.
When he had to implement $5 million in state funding cuts during the recession in 2009, he says his philosophy was to avoid cutting entire programs – since it’s difficult to bring them back. But he adds that may be unavoidable this time.
“With the kind of cuts we’re talking about, it would most certainly lead to an educational environment that I think would be ‘safe,’ but would it be an environment where we’re meeting all of the needs of our children? I think the answer to that is no and that’s what concerns me the greatest," Holodick said.
Decisions on exactly what would go haven’t been finalized. For now, the $8 million was broken out into two buckets: $3.4 million of staff cuts $4.6 million in building maintenance costs and other programs.
Proposed staffing cuts include the loss of around 40 teachers and 4-10 administrators.
Reading specialists, counselors, librarians, and interventionists would also be on the chopping block.
Brandywine’s CFO Scott Kessel says they tried to limit cuts that directly affect kids.
“What we try to do is stay out of the classroom - people who support the classroom - which is definitely going to have an impact on the classroom anyway, we realize it," Kessel said. "We have interventionists that aren’t full-time employees of ours but who we contract with who are helping the kids.”
Drivers’ education and summer school programs would also face elimination - along with all non-varsity programs, after-school activity busses, and EPER clubs and activities.
Holodick says they’re looking at elimination of the Maple Lane intercession program not for next year, but the following year if the referendum does not pass.
Brandywine CFO Scott Kessel says the district has already seen a drop in its revenue this year.
“When we put everything in it came out to $8 million. I shared it with our finance committee. They really tried to say is it really $8 million? At the end – after lots of vetting and discussion – everyone said ok it’s $8 million,” Kessel said.
Holodick added there’s a spending freeze for the remainder of this school year in an effort to save additional $1 million.
The cuts - final numbers and details about who - will be finalized at the next board meeting May 9.
Information about Brandywine's town halls can be found on this calendar here. The first will take place at Claymont Elementary School at 7 p.m. Thursday April 21st, followed by a meeting at P.S. DuPont Middle School at 7 p.m. Wednesday April 27th.
A town hall meeting on Tuesday May 3rd will take place at Carrcroft Elementary at 7 p.m., and one on Thursday May 12th will take place at 7 p.m. at Brandywine High School.
