Voters in the Delphi Community School Corporation district, it is time for you to vote. The public question at hand is whether to allow the school corporation to borrow more money than allowed by state statute for a building project.

Everyone seems to agree the repairs and renovations are needed. However, some have alleged the repairs are a result of deferred maintenance. The science wing has not had running water and adequate electrical service for at least 10 years. In that time, while many of the current school board members have served and made decisions about corporation needs, the science wing and other building needs have gone without. However an athletic track that cost close to $1 million was built.

The Delphi $13 million building renovation project will likely cost $21 million over 20 years.

Making repairs and improvements as monies are available is short-term but doable. Taxpayers appreciate it when their tax rates are kept low. In these precarious economic times, long-term building projects have too much uncertainty. If the school corporation's tax base shrinks, a higher tax rate could be needed to pay off those bonds.

Absentee voting will be June 4, 5 and 11 and 12 in the Carroll County Clerk's office in the courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Voting day will be June 16 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. one polling place, St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, across from the high school.

We urge voters to not be swayed by sentiment for this vote. We urge you to consider the concrete facts in this matter before casting your vote. You must decide for yourselves if you would be "hurting the children" by not voting for the project or if the children would be better served by modeling behavior of sound financial planning that does not involve a debt for more than 20 years for one project.