Mr. Heller reported for CIT that the building project is finished and there is a little contingency left in the budget that needs to be allocated.
Ms. Dautrich's Asst. Superintendent's report had a the following notables:
1) Dual enrollment grant (which is the money provided to allow some Sr. students to take classes at the community college) was down this year as compared to last year. There was some discussion as to how much parents of dual enrolled students would have to pay next year as well as discussion as to whether or not Juniors would be allowed to partake in this program. Dr. Lesky seemed to indicate that they would be allowed but the criteria for selection had not been worked out.
2) Full Day Kindergarten grant of 52K. Currently this money is being used to finance the FDK pilot program at Shafer Elementary.
3) Classrooms of the Future Grant. I didn't get the full $ value of the grant, that was used to purchase multiple smart whiteboards, computers, laptops, digital cameras and projectors.
The Business Administrator's Report was presented by Ms. Rischoff and the Preliminary Budget was the showpiece. NASD has been as aggressive as they feel comfortable in projecting future revenues, using 2.5% increase in real estate assessments. In the past, this number has typically been around 4%, but last year, NASD was presented a windfall of sorts in that the final number came back over 6% which allowed us not to have make any cuts in the budget. However, this year it is unlikely come April, that this number comes back much higher than projected and it is possible that if November projections hold, could actually come back lower. The budget (at this time) is Preliminary. There are quite a few "unknowns" and assumptions made. Including the above uncertainty about the real estate assessments, there is:
- NASD doesn't know what the State Funding will be until Feb when the Gov's budget is presented.
- Retirement contribution rate approved by the board is 4.76%. However there is a bill in the state legislature (SB826) which was passed in committee 49-0 that would set a "floor" contribution rate of over 7%. The current budget (07-08) has a contribution rate of 6.2%.
- Charter schools have seen increased enrollment, yet our budget is still carrying $540K. There is legislature to establish state wide contribution levels which could impact the budget.
- Special Education costs continue to increase.
- Student Transportation costs are being reviewed
- Operating Costs of the New MS have not been finalized. In previous board meetings, the number most often "thrown around" is that operating the MS will cost approximately $2M per year. It will be interesting to see this figure when it is presented at a future board meeting.
Despite all of the uncertainty, the Admin recommended that NASD board adopt the Preliminary Budget now (in part because Act 1 requires us to have a Preliminary Budget passed by Jan 23) and that subsequent cuts would be discussed at future meetings.
In a nutshell, the Preliminary Budget is $60,469,190, which is a 5.15% increase over the current year's budget and includes a 6.15% property tax increase which is over the Act 1 Index of 5.4%.
It was further stated that the Admin's intent is to tax at the Index level because they are looking ahead at the next 3-5 years (when some serious expenditures are going to hit). Dr. Lesky said the goal is to bring spending below the index. Right now, they would have to cut approximately $250K out of the budget. Mr. Maher added that in fact, we are simply decreasing the increase. He pointed out that while Salaries and Benefits are budgeted to increase 3.3% and 5.2% respectively, the overall budget shows an increase of 7.1% in spending. The biggest increase in next years budget is debt service for the new MS.
NASD will still apply for the exceptions to Act 1 which would allow us to tax over the 5.4% index that is what the board decides to do.
After much discussion, the Preliminary Budget passed 7-1 with Mr. Maher voting NO.
Dr. Lesky's report presented a meeting of superintendents where at they discussed Cyber/Charter Schools and how they are looking at the actual costs to operate and administer these schools. The superintendents do not want these schools operating as "profit centers". Mr. Maher asked Dr. Lesky what his overall opinion of Cyber/Charter Schools was, to which Dr. Lesky responded he didn't feel that their platform as providing a unique/creative approach to offer something different than the public schools was being met. He further stated that there needs to be a true cost established for paying for Cyber/Charter Schools.
He also stated that the superintendents discussed the recent costing out study conducted for Pennsylvania school districts and how it showed the need for additional state spending on public schools in order to meet proficiency standards. In addition, it also pointed out the discrepancy in spending (as well as funding) between districts. I believe he used the words "Equitable" and "Adequate".
In my opinion, I don't put a lot of stock in this study. Yes, it said that 470+ districts (out of 501) weren't spending enough and in fact that NASD was $2800 below what was required to meet proficiency standards. That's all well and fine, until you look at some of the districts that were actually spending what was deemed "adequate" and compare those district's PSSA scores. I'll give just two:
Pittsburgh SD: Spent over $2,518 per student MORE (and they have 32,566 students) than the study deemed adequate and yet only 50% of their students were proficient or above on the 2007 PSSAs.
And then....
Duquesne City SD: (which I believe actually folded last year...it doesn't exist now) spent $419 per student MORE than the study deemed adequate and yet only 25% of their students were proficient or above on the 2007 PSSAs.
Okay, end of my editorial comments... ;-)
The final item on Dr. Lesky's report was about the eventual Graduation Competency Exams that were news a week or so ago in area papers. Right now, it looks like there will be 10 tests that students will need to pass in order to graduate, however details are still being discussed.
That was about it. No community corner discussion items. Meeting adjourned around 9:00
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