Brandywine Board of Education unanimously passes a $268 million budget, but officials see possible financial storm clouds on the horizon.
The budget is just under 4% higher than the current year’s. But, in putting it together, district officials had to contend with uncertainty and one unwelcome surprise.
“We had an enrollment decline of 279 students," said Brandywine CFO Daniel McCoy. "That was unexpected. We actually thought that our enrollment would climb a little bit.”
The drop in students means less state money coming into the district.
“In total, what we have listed here is an $872,000 decline," McCoy told school board members.
In addition, McCoy warns that the number of appeals following reassessment would likely continue to grow, further reducing the amount of local revenue flowing into the district.
Meanwhile, funds earmarked specifically for students with intensive or complex needs are being depleted.
McCoy says the number of students with special needs has skyrocketed in recent years and in three of the past four years, the district has overspent its tuition tax funds, dipping into surplus money that has accrued in the account.
“While it is advantageous to taxpayers to use the reserves when available, we are reaching the point where our expenditures will soon deplete our tuition tax reserves and require us to use our current expense local funds to cover the difference," McCoy said.
At the same time, the district faces continued uncertainty from the work of the Redding Consortium, which is exploring a possible merger of several New Castle County school districts - including Brandywine, and the state’s Public Education Funding Commission, which will substantially revamp how the state funds public schools.
