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The Brandywine school board most likely will enact a preliminary $134.5
million fiscal year budget that opens a good possibility the district
might again push back the next tax referendum by a year until the spring
of 2012.
Saying that another
delay will be a "subject of discussion" this autumn, superintendent Mark
Holodick told a meeting of the district finance committee that he's
"more optimistic than I [previously] thought." Board president Debra
Heffernan noted that the board already has extended its 2006 promise of
no referendum for three years adding, "We now hope to go to five." The
budget envisions ending the fiscal year next June 30 with a $4.4 million
carryover, up from $3.4 million this year. Chief financial officer David
Blowman said that, if the district were not required to pick up the full
cost of administering the child nutrition program, the operating budget
would be $400,000 less than last year. As it stands -- subject to
revision in December -- it is up $3.4 million from fiscal 2010.
Blowman revealed at
the meeting on July 22 that the district received approval of its 'Race
to the Top' plan and will get an additional $5 million in federal money
over the next four years. Holodick said that three of the 23 teachers
laid off this summer have been rehired, but added, "We're being a little
more conservative this summer than we have been in the past" about
staffing schools for the coming academic year before getting a firmer
handle on enrollment and state support. Blowman acknowledged that state
budget cuts are likely to increase the number of classes that exceed
target size but said the overages will be no more than one or two
students. District enrollment is now estimated to increase by 47
children after an expected loss of 51 to the new Reach Academy for Girls
charter school.
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IN THE BLACK:
County government got through the fiscal year which ended June 30
without having to dip into its budget reserve, according to County
Executive Chris Coons. It is the first time in several years that that
has happened. Meeting with officers of areawide civic associations on
July 20, Coons credited "some fairly strong discipline" for balancing
revenue with spending. The budget that County Council approved last year
called for having to use $7 million of the $48.4 million then in the 'tax stabilization' fund,
which is in addition to the 'rainy
day' emergency fund. Neither Coons nor chief financial officer Ed
Milowicki would provide details,
explaining that further information is being withheld pending a
presentation to County Council's finance committee on July 27.
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SKATE PARK:
County Council members at a committee meeting appeared enthusiastic
about building a full-scale skateboarding facility in Glasgow Regional
Park and possibly smaller ones in other parks. Then, at the request of
county attorney Gregg Wilson, they took the meeting behind closed doors
to talk about potential liabilities. After some 45 minutes, the meeting
was reopened to the public and the committee voted -- with William
Tansey dissenting -- to authorize the signing of construction contracts
but with a proviso that work not begin until a further briefing about
whatever it was that Wilson told them which dampened their enthusiasm.
California Skate Parks, a firm said to be the national leader in the
field, was successful bidder on the $768,000 subcontract.
Jon Husband, who manages parks
development for the Department of Special Services, told the committee
on July 20 that the skateboarding facility would be part of the third
phase of building the already immensely popular park, a previously
approved $2.26 million capital project. Castle Construction, a local
firm, was successful bidder for the overall job. It was not clear why
further Council approval was necessary. Husband said after the meeting
that he had agreed to "seek a final blessing" for the project because
"we never built a skate park before." He told the committee that there
are more than 4,000 public skateboarding facilities in operation across
the country and that they experience significantly fewer injuries
than basketball courts or football and baseball fields.
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CHALLENGES:
Voters in northern
New Castle County will have a lot to choose from in this autumn's
elections. Before the November run, the final slates for several offices
will be decided by party primaries in September. With the end of the
filing period on July 13, here's how things shape up in the headliner
contests: Republican Congressman Mike Castle must first fend off
Christine O'Donnell before facing Democrat Chris Coons in the contest
for U.S. Senator. Democrat John Carney will meet the winner of a
four-way Republican primary among Rose Izzo, Michele Rollins, Glen
Urquhart and Brent Wangen in his bid to occupy Delaware's only seat in
the U.S. House of Representatives. Attorney general Beau Biden will be
unopposed for re-election.
Contrary to what
has happened in the past, four of the six County Council seats opening
up this year will be contested. Republican William Tansey is stepping
down with Janet Kilpatrick and Michael Protack vying for his party's
nomination to run against Democrat Renee Taschner. Long-serving Robert
Weiner, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Michael Arnnone.
Democrat incumbent Joseph Reda will meet either Scott Sauer or Douglas
Suiter. William Powers, a Democrat, will face Andrea Daley. Incumbents
Lisa Diller and Penrose Hollins, both Democrats, are unopposed. Both
parties will have primaries to decide who will run for sheriff --
incumbent Michael Walsh versus Trinidad Navarro on the Democrat side and
William Hart versus Joseph O'Leary on the Republican.
Republican Cathy
Cloutier's bid to return to the state Senate will be challenged by
Christopher Counihan while Democrat Harris McDowell will be unopposed
for re-election. Four incumbent Democrat state representatives face
Republican challenges -- Gerald Brady by Richard Carroll; Thomas Kovach
by Debra Heffernan; Bryon Short by Judith Travis; and John Kowalko by
Gordon Winegar. A Democrat primary in District 10 pits incumbent Dennis
Williams against Kenneth Darcis with the winner to face Republican
Robert Rhodunda in November. Hazel Plant faces two challengers in a
Democrat primary -- Stephanie Bolden and Darius Brown. Democrat
incumbent Helene Keeley has a primary battle with Robert Bovell. Neither
primary winner will then have a Republican opponent.
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Brandywine school board member Cheryl Siskin urged her colleagues to
be "more open" in dealing with district
staff and the public. She made the remark as the board re-elected its
officers for the coming year.
The board should
foster "an environment where people feel comfortable coming here to talk
with us," Siskin said at its meeting on June 28. "I feel more often we
only hear the good stuff." Noting that the topic wasn't on the posted
agenda for the meeting, president Debra Heffernan ruled that discussing
it should wait until the board's annual 'retreat'. Although technically
open to the public under state law, the all-day session is normally a
private affair. In five-to-two votes, Heffernan and Olivia
Johnson-Harris were elected to continue as president and vice president,
respectively. Ralph Ackerman and Joseph Brumskill nominated and voted
for each other for the positions. Heffernan and Johnson-Harris were
returned as board members without opposition and the necessity of a
public election.
In another matter
at the meeting, assistant superintendent Judy Curtis read a summary of
the 'scope of work' proposal the district submitted on June 17 to obtain
federal 'Race to the Top' money, but declined after the meeting to
provide a copy of her remarks. Public information officer Alexis
Andrianopoulos later provided a brief summary which included: "Increase
teacher and school leader effectiveness ... institute comprehensive
instructional reform ... increase learning time for students ... create
community-oriented schools ... [and] provide district-level support for
sustaining these reforms." She told Delaforum, "Once we have approval
from [the U.S. Department of Education], we will schedule a formal
presentation to the board and public."
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YARD WASTE:
Holland Mulch Inc. has begin accepting residential yard waste free of
charge at its commercial facility on Hay Road near Edgemoor Road. The
temporary service will be available Mondays through Fridays from 7:30
a.m. until 4 p.m. and on Saturdays until 12:30 p.m. The state Department
of Natural Resources & Environmental Control is still "in discussions"
with the Du Pont company about establishing a disposal site on property
adjacent to Holland, according to William Miller, of the department's
solid and hazardous waste management branch. "There are still a lot of
'ifs' that are in question, so we don't have a timetable at this point,"
he told Delaforum. Holland will operate the public site when it is
available. (CLICK
HERE to read previous Delaforum article.)
Last updated on July 23, 2010
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