School Board Approves Prelim Budget, Applies for Exceptions

[Editor's note: a version of this article appeared prematurely on Upper Dublin Patch last week. The preliminary budget and exception applications were not officially approved until Monday, January 9. Patch regrets the error.]

In what is somewhat of a formality in the budgeting process, the Upper Dublin Board of School Directors approved a preliminary 2012-13 budget and the submission of Act 1 exceptions at Tuesday’s work session at the .

As , the district is proposing a 2012-13 budget that will not exceed a 4.47 percent tax increase. 1.7 percent is for the Act 1 Index, required by law, while a 1.32 percent piece could go to PSERS, a state retirement program, and 1.45 percent to special education expenditures.

By seeking exceptions for PSERS and Special Education expenditures, the district may choose to drop those portions of the potential increase if the state approves.

Last year, the board was approved for both exceptions, and only used one, resulting in the 4.82 percent tax increase. The district will likely hear from the state by mid-March, and make a final decision on potential increases by meetings in May or June, with a scheduled adoption date of June 13.

District says $800,000 saved through attrition, health consortiums still on the table

Much of the budget presentation and community input portions of the meeting featured discussion on the district's continuing efforts on cost-saving initiatives. District business administrator Brenda Jones Bray began by saying that no cuts were made to education curriculum, staff, or services in 2012-13.

"We're maintaining existed educational programs and staffing with no furloughs or demotions, and no new staff," said Jones Bray. "[We're budgeting] the same service for transportation, and no general fund support for food service."

Jones Bray went on to review initiatives that have come from the Budget and Finance Task Force, formed by the district in September 2010, which made its initial report last spring.

“We renewed current contracts with vendors to negotiate immediate cost-savings, including Aramark, we’re in-sourcing special education placements and offering services to other districts for a fee… [we’re] reducing administration costs through retirement and attrition… we’re actively engaged with comparing two trusts for self-funded medical insurance… and lastly, we’re continuing analysis of transportation,” said Jones Bray.

Jones Bray said that $800,000 was cut from the 2011-12 budget to 2012-13 through attrition.

“We’re attempting to do more with less,” said Jones Bray, using the example of Coordinator of Educational Technology Stephanie Hultquist, who will maintain responsibilities of her current position after she becomes acting principal at Fort Washington Elementary School when current principal William Del Collo retires next month. “In April, we came to you with about $800,000 of reductions, and basically… it was where we had people retiring or moving on and we didn’t replace them.”

Jones Bray also said that the district is still considering two self-funded health care options that were presented to the board by local consortiums this past fall. [To learn about the two consortium options, read our November article.]

“With SePAST, there’s not much new… there was some discussion about a penalty clause if [a district] wanted to pull out,” said Jones Bray, referencing a potential draw back of joining the currently existing consortium. “I know they’re working, or at least looking, at restructuring that piece so that they could make it a little less expensive to pull out.”

Jones Bray also discussed updates to the “BuxMont Trust.”

“They finally have the trust agreement together, and we have it, but it has very broad definitions,” said Jones Bray. “They’re working toward getting more information available as to when we might expect information on rates.”

Jones Bray said that both trusts would likely have final information for interested districts by March, with deadlines for joining likely to follow soon after. In order to join either group, both the school board and union would need to sign-off, a requirement that would exist even if employees were not currently under contract.

Outgoing Principal William Del Collo donates $10,000 to Upper Dublin Education Foundation

In a move that left board members speechless and drew a rousing standing ovation, outgoing Fort Washington Elementary School Principal William Del Collo and his wife presented the board with a $10,000 check to the Upper Dublin Education Foundation during pre-meeting presentations. Check back with Patch for a full story.

Six new members appointed to Educational Advisory Committee

The board appointed the following individuals to the EAC, to replace members stepping down:

• Brad Broker, term expiring June 30, 2014
• Deborah Carver, term expiring June 30, 2013
• Steven Hunter, term expiring June 30, 2013
• Jeanne Lunney, term expiring June 30, 2012
• Debbie Miller, term expiring June 30, 2013
• Mark Sirota, term expiring June 30, 2012