Seneca Valley Official Questions Timing, Asks to Rescind 2011-12 Budget

Although Seneca Valley officials last month a the $94.5 million spending plan still is very much on the mind of school board member Joseph Scalamogna.

At Monday’s meeting, he tried but failed to persuade school board members to rescind their vote May 16 to approve the final budget. It addressed the the district faces in the next school year by adding a 5.6-mill increase in real estate taxes and curtailing a half-dozen district programs.

He also questioned the timing of shortly after the budget’s approval and asked why a vote to adopt the spending plan took place in May when the district has until June 30 to agree on a budget.

“There was no explanation as to why we had such an early vote,” he said.

Before last month’s vote, Scalamogna proposed delaying it until the resolution of a legislative counterproposal to Gov. Tom Corbett’s state budget plan.

While the Corbett plan calls for , the state’s Republican-controlled House on May 24 approved a plan that maintains the governor’s $27.3 billion bottom line but shifts money earmarked for public welfare programs to public education.

The budget now is in the hands of the state Senate, with a deadline set for June 30. Senate leaders have said the budget could be sent back to the House for approval by the end of this week. The state’s new fiscal year starts July 1.

By conservative estimates, Scalamogna said, the district could expect to receive an additional $700,000 in funding once the state budget is approved. He said the money could have been used to lower the tax increase.

He also said it was unusual for the board to approve a school budget before June.

“In my best memory, I don’t recall ever taking a final budget vote in May,” he said.

He added that next year’s budget would not have been approved without Hanley's vote in its favor. The board split, 5-4, last month in favor of approving the budget, with Scalamogna and board members Eric DiTullio, Anthony Storti, and James Welsh  voting no.

Seven days later, Hanley sent a letter of resignation to the school board, saying she was moving from the area. The board accepted her resignation at last week’s workshop meeting.

After Scalamogna questioned the May 23 date of Hanley’s resignation, school board President Robert J. Hill said any inference that the vote was scheduled early so that Hanley could be present was wrong.

“If the budget was still outstanding, Dr. Hanley would still be in that chair,” he said.

School board members last week appointed incumbent Reid Moon to serve out the remainder of Hanley's term. Moon would have taken over the Region 6 seat representing Zelienople next year after staging in the May primary. He abstained Monday from voting on Scalamogna's motion to rescind the budget.

The rest of the officials split, 5-3, to not rescind the budget. Scalamogna, Welsh and DiTullio voted to overturn the budget.

District Solicitor Matt Hoffman said school boards members have the power to rescind their budgets, but he didn’t believe it would be possible to revoke Seneca Valley’s budget. The district already has reported it to the Pennsylvania Department of Education,  he said.

The district is required by the state to advertise its budget 10 days in advance of adopting it, Hoffman said. It couldn't do that now and still meet the June 30 deadline, he said.

Scalamogna said he thought it feasible to approve a spending plan before the deadline.

“Ten days puts us on the date of June 30,” he said.