Superintendent: A new tax-rate
ceiling would hold for four years

If voters approve the requested  increase in its authorized property tax rate at the March referendum, Brandywine School District will not seek another hike for at least four years, according to Superintendent Mark Holodick.

He told a group of district employees and community residents beginning an effort to secure a favorable vote at the March 28 referendum that the school board has made a firm commitment to abide by a new rate ceiling "for four or five years and, hopefully, longer."

He denied that referendum strategy calls for holding a second referendum if voters reject the increase, but stopped short of saying that will not happen. "The board is undecided what it will do," he said. It will make that decision, if necessary, after analyzing initial results.

Right now, however, "we talk about when we pass the referendum [sic], not if we pass it," he said. "We're positive but yet realistic."

The published agenda of a closed-door executive session of the school board before its January business meeting referred to "potential staffing cuts as it relates to the upcoming spring operating revenue." District spokeswoman Alexis Andrianopoulos told Delaforum that that discussion included specific positions and qualifications of persons who hold them and therefore qualified for exemption from the state's open-meeting law. She did not say what, if any, decisions were made. The Brandywine agenda was amended after the attorney general ruled that public agencies have to be more specific than they usually have been in the past about items to be covered in meetings from which the public is excluded.

Holodick referred generally to "cutting personnel and programs we would not be able to continue to support."

He said the increase of 27¢ for each $100 of assessed property value being sought "is what we really need to be the kind of district the community expects." There was no thought of floating a higher amount in order to make the amount really needed more palatable and more likely to be approved the second time around, he said. State law allows districts to hold no more than two tax referendums in any 12-month period.

Holodick said that after some 60 people came up with recommendations for initiatives to be financed by the tax increase "we worked to bring the [amount to be sought] down as far as we could." If all the proposals were accepted, the increase would be in the high 30¢ range, he said.

Chief financial officer David Blowman told the meeting of the advocacy group on Jan. 25 that the district is "asking for no more than what we absolutely need."

He explained that the 19¢ of the proposed increase that would be earmarked for continuing current programs and rebuilding the financial reserve is necessary because, contrary to expectation, the district's student population is growing significantly while its tax base is growing at an average of an anemic three-tenths of one percent.

He said that the financial reserve "isn't really a reserve in the usual sense [of that term]" but a carryover at the end of a fiscal year on June 30 to meet payroll and other expenses until tax revenue is received three to four months later. He has proposed increasing the $3.5 million expected to be on hand at the end of this year to $8.5 million at the end of fiscal 2015.

County government is required to bill school tax when it bills the county tax. After the money comes in it's turned in to the state treasury which, in turn, passes it through to the school districts. The county is not paid an administrative fee but is partly compensated by interest earned while accumulating the money.

Brandywine presently has the highest tax rate in New Castle County -- $1.8385. The others: Christina, $1.777; Red Clay, $1.662; Appoquinimink, $1.4527; Colonial, $1.366; 'Vo-Tech', $0.1111.

Brandywine "is very open about what we're doing financially," Blowman said. "The community expects us to spend the resources it gives us on educating the kids."

Holodick told the 27 attenders at the advocacy group meeting that they face a challenge which they "must meet head-on."

"Times are tough, especially for those on fixed incomes or out of work," he said, adding that the new contract with the teachers' union now being negotiated and possibly heading for mediation and voter apathy are also factors.

On the other hand, he said, "there is a lot of trust [of the district] in the community [and] interest in surging ahead." All the initiatives planned to be financed by the higher tax "are directly connected to our success plan," he added.

The advocacy group, which will function as 'Friends of Brandywine Referendum', is being divided into committees dealing with such things as providing literature and lawn signs, connecting with the media and community associations, and funds raising.

Cyndi Lehm, its treasurer, reported that it is beginning with a $1,570 kitty, which consists mostly of money left over from the district's last tax referendum five years ago. Its effort is expected to cost between $15,000 and $20,000 but a budget has not yet been determined. It is intended, however, that the campaign will be financed by outside donations, not with district money. Already underway is solicitation of vendors and area businesses.

Committee membership is open to anyone wishing to volunteer

Pentagon budget to shrink next year

By Craig Whitlock

WASHINGTON POST

The Pentagon budget will shrink slightly next year for the first time since 1998, the Obama administration said Thursday, in an attempt to chip away at the federal deficit while reorienting the armed forces toward Asia.

Under the proposal, the administration will reduce the size of the Army and Marine Corps, trim the number of fighter aircraft and ships, and seek congressional approval for another round of military base closures.

The administration will instead spend more on unmanned vehicles and Special Operations forces that can be deployed quickly and will not require large, expensive bases. The military will also largely preserve its manpower and weapons systems geared toward the Middle East.

The Pentagon said it would ask Congress for $525 billion in 2013, which represents a 1 percent decrease from the current year. While the difference may sound small, it represents a new era of austerity for the Defense Department that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, when the military was still accustomed to huge annual raises after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Pentagon leaders characterized the cuts in solemn tones. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta called them a “difficult undertaking.” Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added: “Make no mistake, the trade-offs were tough. The choices were complex.”

The changes are part of a broader effort by the Pentagon to decrease its projected spending by $487 billion over the next decade in accordance with a deficit-reduction deal President Obama reached with Congress in August.

Those cuts could soon swell substantially. If Obama and Congress cannot agree on another package of spending reductions or tax increases by next January, the Pentagon could be forced to slash an extra $600 billion over 10 years. “It basically takes a chain saw to the budget,” said Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Many analysts say that the chances of that happening are small, and that Obama and Congress are likely to work out a compromise ahead of time. But even if they do, many believe the Pentagon is in for more pain as lawmakers search for a long-term solution to the nation’s fiscal troubles.

Aside from the cuts to the Army, which will eventually reduce the number of active-duty soldiers to 490,000 from 547,000, most of the reductions revealed Thursday had been previously announced or involved less costly items. Panetta noted that the Army and the Marine Corps will still be slightly larger than they were in 2001, before the invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent war in Iraq.

Among the few weapons systems getting the ax are a defense weather satellite, a version of the Global Hawk surveillance drone and a radar with a mouthful of a name: the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System.

Of the total $259 billion in cuts to projected spending over the next five years, almost one quarter — $60 billion — will come from what the Pentagon obliquely called “efficiencies.” Defense officials said they would save more on “streamlined staff,” better use of “information technology” and “inventory management” but weren’t more specific.

The Pentagon said it will preserve all versions of its next generation F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, although some planned purchases will be delayed. The Air Force will also eliminate six of its 60 tactical air squadrons. Each has from 18 to 24 fighter aircraft, mostly older F-15s or F-16s.

The Navy got to keep all 11 of its aircraft carriers, although it will have to retire seven aging cruisers earlier than expected. It will also cut back production of two Littoral Combat Ships and eight Joint High Speed Vessels.

Panetta signaled that the Pentagon is willing to tackle a couple of politically sensitive topics: closing military bases and limiting compensation for troops and veterans.

He said the Obama administration will ask Congress to establish a new Base Closure and Realignment Commission, which would enforce another round of military base closures nationwide. Congress approved the last round of base closures in 2005. Most lawmakers, however, hate the idea of shuttering bases in their districts.

“Make no mistake, the savings we are proposing will impact all 50 states, and many districts across America,” Panetta said. “This will be a test — a test — of whether reducing the deficit is about talk or action.”

He also said he will ask Congress to approve a separate commission to authorize reductions in retirement benefits, which have accounted for an increasingly steep share of the defense budget. Moreover, he said the Pentagon would limit pay raises for active-duty troops — another idea that is unlikely to win much favor from lawmakers, who consistently award pay hikes larger than those sought by defense officials.

Panetta emphasized that any changes to retirement benefits would affect only future recruits, not those currently in the armed forces. He also said the less-generous pay raises would not take effect until 2015.

Also declining will be a separate budget dedicated to the cost of fighting the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and certain other overseas operations. Obama is asking Congress for $88 billion for the Afghan war next year, down from $115 billion in the current fiscal year, which included the costs of winding down the war in Iraq.

Although the defense budget will decline next year, to $525 billion from this year’s $531 billion, under Obama’s current projections it will inch upward in constant dollars between 1 percent and 2 percent annually thereafter.

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