District Passes Final Budget 6-1 Amid Concerns

In a 6-1 vote Board of Directors passed a $62 million final budget for the 2011-12 school year with a 2.76 percent increase.

The board managed the budget down from an initially anticipated increase of 3.23 percent, then a , to a final budget with an increase of 2.76 percent.

Last year, the board increased the budget by 3.54 percent.

Homeowners will pay an average of $110 more in school taxes for 2011-12.

The average property tax for 2011-12 is estimated at $4,073, compared to last year’s $3,963.

Homeowners will pay .027 cents on the dollar of their assessed home value in school taxes. The average home value here this year is $145,580.

Donald Heller, who has been on the board for over a decade, had the sole negative vote. He told Springfield Patch the following in explaining his opposition:

“There are items of expense that I do not believe the district should make.  As long as these items are included in the budget, or unless I am convinced the expenditure is appropriate, I will vote against the budget. An example of this is the purchase and distribution of laptop computers to all students in the high school.  I have objected to this since the program was implemented [about five years ago] and, to date, nothing has been provided causing me to change my position. I think the majority of the families in the community can afford to provide computer access to their students.  Where they cannot then I would support assisting those students.”

The final budget is $175,444 under the maximum budget cap permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Under Act 1, districts may not increase budgets by more than a 1.4 percent index without holding a taxpayer referendum.

The budget includes $847,293 in allowable Pennsylvania Department of Education Act 1 exceptions (over 1.4 percent.) Exceptions include $393,814 in special education costs and $453,479 for state pension fund costs.

Board member Donald Cadge said he was “troubled” and felt the board might be making a "strategic error" by leaving $175,444 in revenue that the board could raise as permitted by Act 1. He suggested that this revenue might be needed in the future to pay for mandates, like state retirement and special education expenses, that may no longer be allowable back-end exceptions under Act 1, if pending legislation in Harrisburg gets approved.  

Despite his concern, Cadge thanked the Administration and to the Finance Committee for their work and voted in favor of the final budget.

Executive Director of Operations, Donald Mooney, said the economy has impacted the district’s investment earnings and assessed property values.

District interest earnings have decreased 34.2 percent on average since 2009.

The board passed the final budget June 16, prior to the June 30 Pennsylvania Department of Education deadline.