NPSD Financial Outlook meeting reviewed 'fiscal reality' for 2011-12

North Penn School District Superintendent Dr. Curt Dietrich and Director of Business Administration Bob Schoch led a district Financial Outlook Information Meeting Monday night at North Penn High School.

The goals for the meeting were to help community members have a better understanding of Act 1 and the “fiscal reality” related to preparing a school district budget. Dietrich and Schoch also reviewed factors that will affect spending and income for the 2011–12 school year.

Act 1 index for the 2011-12 fiscal year is at 1.4 percent
About 80 percent of the school district’s budget is received from local real estate tax revenue. The North Penn School District Board of School Directors cannot raise real estate taxes for the 2011-12 budget by more than 1.4 percent, regardless of increases to the district budget such as salaries, health care costs, pension costs, utilities and maintenance. Therefore, the Act 1 index is critical to the entire district budget process.

A large part of the presentation was dedicated to outlining cost saving initiatives, discussing revenue increase assumptions, reviewing benchmark analysis, and discussing the Employee Challenge.

The school will be aggressively benchmarking itself to gain a better perspective on how to generate further revenue. Property taxes, investment earnings and ACCESS/Medicaid reimbursement are currently under scrutiny.

Other considerations are charging “user fees.” User fees include charging groups to use the buildings, and implementing admission fees for sports and theater.

A focus for the budget will also be placed on spending. Salaries, health care and resources (electricity, fuel, gas) estimates will be finalized by mid-March. By mid-April, the district will make a final decision on its plan to borrow $30 million to fund the remainder of ongoing projects and one new renovation. Bidding for projects will reach a wider scope to increase competitiveness.

Another idea that was proposed was streamlining transportation. The district could save up to $1.3 million per year (best case scenario) by sharing services with neighboring districts (for out-of-district nonpublic and special education).

Due to the unknown duration of the current recession, the North Penn School District is taking a long-term planning approach. Aggressive efforts are underway now, and budgeting is looking to a three- to five-year forecast based on best- and worst-case scenarios.

Employee engagement
The district is seeking internal assistance in its long-term plans. Employee suggestions and challenges are being initiated, and they have definitive goals. These plans will be discussed at an Innovation Celebration May 2 at Penndale Middle School.

Dietrich outlined how these plans would affect various members of the community:

       NPSD employees

• Engagement in solving challenging problems
• Opportunities to improve your skills
• Working with talented and dedicated coworkers

      NPSD students and parents

• Maintaining strong programs despite economic pressures

      NPSD community

• Strength of the school system is ultimately reflected in the value of the property
• Manageable tax increases
• Opportunities to help

The meeting was then opened up to the public for comments and questions.

Bill Brosky, of Colmar, inquired about the extensiveness of the curriculum, to which Dietrich answered about the need for the current curriculum and its effectiveness.

Barry Simpson, of Lower Gwynedd, asked about the public documentation of extracurricular activity costs. Dietrich informed him that all of the costs were documented and could be provided to him upon request.

Maryjo Coyne, a secretary at the Educational Services Center, cautioned that sharing transportation services could possibly extend students' ride times.

“We are involved in some really difficult and challenging times right now with the economy and the effect that it is having on our revenue streams," Dietrich said. "We have some important decisions to make, and we think it is important to have those affected by these changes involved in this process.”