The Brandywine School District held the third of four town hall meetings before its second referendum vote May 17 Tuesday night at Carrcroft Elementary.
The first failed in March after the inclusion of a contentious turf field line item, and some residents complaining about lack of transparency about the district’s budgetary needs.
At Tuesday night's meeting, district officials put a significant emphasis on the capital improvement piece of the referendum pie – even though it’s tax neutral and not included in the proposed 28 cent tax increase for every $100 of assessed property value.
Brandywine Superintendent Mark Holodick wanted to stress that if the referendum fails, the over 60% of funding for capital improvement projects at three schools already approved by the state of Delaware will disappear.
District Supervisor of Facilities John Read says Carrcroft is the only school in the Brandywine School District without a security system securing entry to the school through a main office entry point only: an effort that started district-wide in 2003.
“When Sandy Hook happened we really put our foot on the accelerator and we’ve been postponing maintenance projects in order to get security projects done," Read said. "The improvement here has been much more costly than it has been at other schools. It’s geometry: that’s what’s against us here is geometry. The office is in the wrong location.”
Brandywine Assistant Superintendent Lincoln Hohler also explained the district’s operational needs.
“When you have a doctor who tells you that you need an operation, he’s telling you that you have a health issue. So when a district comes to its community and says we’re in need of an operational referendum we’re saying we have a health issue that needs to be addressed," Hohler said. "Without it, we won’t have the same level of performance that we currently enjoy.”
Resident Frank Jost initially expressed dismay at the way some figures were presented primarily as percentages instead of dollar amounts in budget breakdowns. However, after Tuesday night’s meeting the grandfather of a Carrcroft first grader says his previous “no” vote is now a “yes.”
“We’ve brought a very modest or below modest school district in appearance and staffing up to something we can be proud of. And the taxes relative to other neighboring states and counties are extremely low even with an increase with this referendum so I’m all in favor of it now.”
Administrator with the Brandywine Community School Kim Allen recognizes the significance of the referendum, and hopes others will too.
"I know the importance of this referendum and how valuable it is to our students," Allen said.
Holodick notes that if this referendum passes, he guarantees he won’t seek another tax increase for three years minimum, and hopefully 4-5 years.
He called the referendum voting system a “sick cycle,” after this week he began meeting individually with the 28 teachers who will lose their jobs if the upcoming referendum fails.
A referendum voter guide is also making its way to district residents’ mailboxes this week.
The final town hall before the May 17 vote is next Thursday at Brandywine High School.
