Metcalfe Asks Governor to Reject Seneca Valley Act 1 Exception Request

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, is encouraging Governor Tom Corbett to reject

“I strongly encourage your administration to carefully scrutinize the Act 1 waiver application from the Seneca Valley School District, to ensure the budget presented is in full compliance with state law and that funding is not being shifted to indicate a shortage in areas that qualify as an exception,” he said in a letter dated Jan. 18.

In the face of a proposed preliminary budget that for the 2012-13 school year, Seneca Valley’s school board unanimously on Monday approved a motion allowing the district to ask the state for special exceptions under Act. 1.

This would permit the district to increase property taxes above the inflationary index. For Seneca Valley, the index under Act 1—also known at the Taxpayer Relief Act—is set at 2 percent, or 2.11 mills of tax.

Although this action would give them the option of raising taxes beyond the index, it does not mean district officials plan to do so.

In his letter to the governor, Metcalfe noted Seneca Valley also was approved for an exception to raise taxes beyond the inflationary index of 1.6 percent for the 2011-12 school year.

Last May, s. It increased property taxes by 5.6 mills and curtailed a half-dozen district programs.

In his letter, Metcalfe said school board members, school administrators and educators need to work together to “find alternatives to resolve budget issues rather than increasing the burden on taxpayers."

“The local teachers’ union already ignored the best interest of taxpayers in the Seneca Valley School District by refusing to accept a pay freeze to help offset the multimillion dollar budget deficit,” he said. “Instead of making the appropriate cuts to account for the additional funding needed, the school board opted to apply for an Act 1 waiver because it is a near guaranteed tax increase without voter approval."

What the School Board President Says

School board president Robert Hill said Metcalfe’s letter to the governor was not surprising, but it was disappointing. Speaking on behalf of his fellow officials, he said no one on the district’s nine-person school board wants to raise taxes. 

Hill said he wished Metcalfe had first approached him for a question-and-answer session regarding the budget.

“Mr. Metcalfe has long had more than a casual interest in the Seneca Valley school budgeting process. Sadly, his interest is far greater than his knowledge of how it works,” Hill said. “I’m disappointed that the representative didn’t seek me out to perhaps get a greater level of understanding of our budget before he penned this letter.”

If the exceptions are approved, Hill said they only would make up a small portion of the shortfall faced by the district. He added Seneca Valley’s budget only is preliminary at this point and likely will change several times once the district is notified of the amount state funding it will receive for the next school year.

Corbett is expected to give his budget address to the public early next month. The deadline to apply to the state for the exceptions —which also requires districts to have a proposed preliminary budget available for the public's inspection—is Feb. 9. School district officials are not required to approve a final budget until June.

“We have a lot of missing pieces of information before we can put a comprehensive budget together,” Hill said. “This budget is going to change its shape and form several times. Our job as board members is to keep as many options open as we possibly can until more reliable numbers from the state are sent to us.

“Letters like this do not help the conversation.”

Reaching Out to Legislators

District spokeswoman Linda Andreassi said Superintendent Dr. Tracy Vitale has been reaching out to local politicians to speak about education, including Metcalfe.

The superintendent already has met with State Rep. Dick Stevenson, R-Grove City, and will meet with Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, next week. She also will serve as a host for a state School Board Association/Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV superintendent event at Seneca Valley in February, which will be attended by U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless.

"District officials want to work with our local legislators for the benefit of all students," Andreassi said. 

She noted school districts do not apply for exceptions through the governor, they apply for them through state department of education. She said the district had been unaware of Metcalfe's letter to the governor until Friday.

"Once hearing of it, and because Dr. Vitale was in the area for a parent communication forum at and , she stopped by his Cranberry Township office and offered to meet with him to discuss this further," Andreassi said. "In his absence, she left a message with the office staff and looks forward to having a face-to-face dialogue with him."

Andreassi said the district would have further comment once a meeting takes place.

Click on the PDF toward the right side of this page (below the photo) to read the full version of Metcalfe's letter to the governor. For a look as Seneca Valley's proposed preliminary budget, click here.