Governor Ed Rendell's budget was unveiled earlier this week. One of the items that received a great deal of press (see Morning Call and Express-Times) was the increase in educational funding. Governor Rendell's budget calls for a 6% increase ($291M) in Basic Education Funding (BEF) for 2008-09. The increase is due in part to the educational funding formula based on the state legislature's "costing-out" study presented last fall.
The formula targets districts with the highest property tax rates and greatest needs. For example, the Allentown School District would see a 19.7% increase in funding. A planned preliminary 6.5% property tax increase may not be necessary according Allentown School Board President Andrew Weiss:
''We won't need a tax increase if all things play out over the next few weeks,''
Bethlehem Area School District also saw a significant (8.8%) increase which "Bodes well for academic programs" that were in danger of being cut according to BASD Superintendent Joseph Lewis.
Of course all of this money pales in comparison to the Philadelphia City SD. They get a 9.64% increase, which is an increase of just over $85M. But I digress....
So, how did NASD fare? And how does might this impact our preliminary budget propsed property tax increase? The answer there is probably, not much.
According to the 08-09 proposed BEF breakdown, NASD is receiving a 5.57% increase over 07-08 spending. Sound good? Well, when you look at the 08-09 NASD preliminary budget dated 12/17, NASD was already counting on a projected 4.0% increase from the state. So while we did get more than projected, it really only turns out to be an increase of approximately $115K over what we were expecting.
Remember, the 12/17 budget included a 6.15% increase property tax, which is above the 5.4% Act 1 index limit. We need to cut approximately $266K from the preliminary budget to get to the 5.4% limit. The increase from the state will almost cut that number in half, but we'll still need to either (a) cut additional spending or (b) use the Act 1 exceptions which allow school districts to tax above the index due to growth, debt and special education spending needs.
School board meeting is Monday night. I'm sure I'll hear more then.
1 comment:
Cutting roughly $150K should not be that hard.
For a couple of suggestions:
Do away with the mandatory "clubs" at the MS. They provide little benefit, yet cost money for supplies. Give the kids back an activity period where they could study or work on homework.
Go virtual on the paperwork. I received an envelop the other day stuffed with multiple pieces of paper about the upcoming PSSA tests. Put it online. Send home a one page notice of its location, and if a parent wants hard copies, where they can request it.
We save on printing costs as well as postage.
These are simple things that could have a large impact over the course of the year.
I am quite sure there are many more out there, and anyone that has run a business could easily find them.
The problem is the inmates are running the assylum and don't have a clue on how to run a business.
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