Absentee voting (by mail) for the referendum to allow, or not allow, the Delphi Community School Corporation to proceed with a $13 million building project begins Monday. (Absentee voting for the referendum begins the first week of June in the county clerk's office.)

On March 18 the Comet printed a guest editorial written by superintendent Ralph Walker. In it, Walker made several predictions about the tax rates being lower for a variety of reasons, but all with the condition of "a stable assessed valuation" of property.

But no one knows if the assessed valuation will be stable.

The State of Indiana threw us into a black hole of uncertainty with property tax reform two years ago. The amount of funding from property assessments is uncertain. The State is struggling financially. Some legislators want to spend the Rainy Day Fund just to stay solvent. Some want to use Federal Stimulus money to create jobs that will not be around in two years when the money goes away.

There is no approved state budget yet, which means the county budget will not be approved until after the middle of June when a special session is called for the state to agree on the numbers.

Indiana plants and businesses are closing. People are losing their jobs. This all translates to less income tax available. Remember income tax - that (and sales tax) is what is supposed to take the place of the lower property taxes.

The Federal government is not in any better shape. The number being used to describe the national debt is in the "trillions."

To say these are questionable economic times would be an understatement. And voters in the DCSC district are being asked to predict the future and vote on the next 20 or so years of their taxpaying lives.

Walker gave a compelling argument in favor of proceeding with the project (despite these uncertain times) in his guest editorial. He noted that because of the lack of building projects, bids for the work should be less than they would have been last year or the year before.

The decision on whether or not to proceed with the building project is in voters' hands starting Monday. Those who do not plan to vote absentee will have the opportunity to vote at the polls on June 16.

The $13 million project could cost patrons more than $21 million over the next 20 years.

Voters in the Delphi Community School Corporation, do what you need to do to make an informed and comfortable decision about the proposed building project. Talk to your school board representative. Talk to your neighbors, friends and others. Consult back issues of the Comet for information. And then vote. You have a responsibility to participate in this process. Are the planned renovations and upgrades prudent at this time and is the plan to make them happen a sound one for the corporation and the community? That's for you to decide.