Wissahickon School Board Looks at 0, 1 or 1.7 Percent Tax Increases

The met on Thursday for their first public budget workshop meeting for the 2012-13 budget. Expenses for the upcoming school year were looked at, with budget cuts and reductions to be the topic of the board’s next meeting, to be held on March 15.

Wade Coleman, Business Administrator, said the 2012-13 budget had $86.8 million in planned expenditures, a .2 percent increase over the 2011-12 budget, but with a proposed zero percent tax increase.

However, administration has looked at the affects, both on the district and on the residents of a zero percent increase, a 1 percent increase and a 1.7 percent increase.

Coleman stated that a 1.7 percent increase, which is at the Act 1 Index, for a home assessed at $205,000 (the district average), residents would see a tax increase of $61.50 for the year.

Currently, and in the past number of years, the School Board has balance the budget using funds from the district’s fund balance – a rainy day fund for the district. With a zero percent tax increase for the 2012-13 school year, approximately $3 million would be used to balance the budget.

Coleman said the district expects to end next year with $14.56 million in the fund balance, even with a zero percent increase.

Coleman told the Board, the fund balance is “very healthy” and in fact it increased last year.

However, he added that if the Board opts for a tax increase, they could reduce fund balance usage.

Coleman told the board that the last two years of audited numbers, the district’s actual expenditures were significantly less than anticipated. He said the administration believes the district has been budgeting too conservatively in the past.

This year, there will not be as much of a cushion, as the administration is budgeting with those audited numbers in mind.

The next public budget workshop for the Wissahickon School District will be help on March 15 at 6:30 p.m., with the discussion focusing on cuts and reductions.

Budget information can also be found on the Wissahickon School District website.