Programs, not taxes, on the mind of RTM residents
UPPER PROVIDENCE >> More than 100 Rose Tree Media residents attended the recent school board meeting to hear the input garnered from the budget process taxpayer forums.
Some 500 homeowners attended the four meetings aimed at sharing ideas to help set priorities in developing the 2017-2018 budget. The procedure was introduced and the report presented by Dr. Harris Sokoloff of the Penn Project for Civic Engagement.
The $98.2-million preliminary budget, with a $7.2-million increase and 3.5-percent tax hike, was approved by the school board in January. The district’s Act 1 index for next year, as set by the state, is 2.5 percent and the additional 1 percent would be sought through Act 1 referendum exceptions. If the current program and teaching staff were to be maintained without a tax hike, the gap is $9.5 million.
Participants were asked to rank a sampling of 63 possible budget actions related to instruction, support services, student activities and revenue sources under consideration by the district. The groups were asked to categorize them from items easily addressed (“low-hanging fruit”) and unfortunately necessary (“shared pain” and “gut wrenching”) to those which could not be eliminated (“no way, no how”).
The consensus showed agreement on possible solutions such as an increase in property taxes and fees and reduction of the fund balance and administration at the secondary level. Conversely, parents were opposed to changes in the number of kindergarten, elementary and high school core subject teachers, middle school world languages, high school sports, clubs and theater productions and school nurses.
Specific themes immerged, including minimizing cuts that directly affect students, maintaining class size, electives and clubs as keys to the district’s identity and a willingness to provide financial support. The participants also stressed the need for increased transparency to build trust and long-term fiscal planning and projections.
“As one group put it – ‘it is our opinion that budgetary decisions must be made in a manner that maximizes the support of instruction, guidance and extracurricular activities,’” said Sokoloff. “In addition, there was widespread displeasure with the fact that there were so few administrative cuts in the worksheets and the manner in which the district administration and school board have carried out their fiduciary responsibilities.”
Nearly a dozen parents spoke to reiterate the items highlighted in the PowerPoint. “Extra curriculars really matter in high school,” said Debbie Saylor-Brown. “I think the district did a poor job of communicating the forums, but Penn did an excellent job in conducting them and I want to thank them publicly.”
“I think this board has kept taxes artificially low,” added Kelly Johnson. “This issue has been coming for a long time.”
The next steps, said Sokoloff, are “building on the fact that participants feel they get good education value for their tax dollars.” Participants suggested reporting back to residents and explaining how their input was used to make budget decisions and in the future, involving them earlier in the process. The latter includes creating threefive year projections and long-term strategies for effective education in tight financial times.
The school board and administration will digest the 107-page report for advice in making decisions about closing the budget gap, said Vice President Liz Schneider. She added the district is waiting for certain expense figures which may not be as high as originally anticipated.
“We received a lot of really, really good input from our residents, which we will review over the course of the next few months,” she added. “You have spoken and we have heard you.”