District has trio of options to balance 2018-19 budget

Some tax increase appears likely

Administrators and board members in the Plum Borough School District are faced with some tough decisions to balance the district’s budget.

“We know the decisions that are being made at the district level are very difficult decisions,” superintendent Brendan Hyland said at a budget workshop meeting last week. “We know these decisions are impacting people.”

Faced with a $5.2 million budget deficit, the board in March voted to close Regency Park Elementary School and to furlough 12 teachers.

In April, the board voted to allow the furloughs of an additional 14 employees, including one administrator.

At the workshop meeting, business manager John Zahorchak outlined three different approaches the district could take with the 2018-2019 school year budget.

The first option discussed would not require a tax increase, Mr. Zahorchak said. School taxes would remain at 20.243 mills, the same rate as during the 2017-2018 school year.

According to Mr. Zahorchek, Option 1 would provide savings by cutting several programs, including ROTC ($120,000) the French language program ($130,000) and the business program ($115,000). The district also would eliminate the assistant transportation director position ($80,000), and school resource officer and school police ($140,000).

Under Option 2, school real estate taxes would rise to 20.89 mills. Under that plan, a taxpayer owning a home of median value would pay $79 more per year during the 2018-2019 school year.

Option 2 would require using about 75 percent of the district’s fund balance to close the budget gap.

A third option would require increasing real estate taxes by 0.8327 mills in each of the next two school years, for a total increase of 1.6654 mills, Mr. Hyland said in an email Tuesday. The tax increases would generate an additional $2.55 million.

During or after the workshop meeting, several school directors said terms of the last two teachers contracts and a failure to raise school taxes from 2009 to 2016 contributed to the district’s bad financial situation.

After the meeting, school board president Steve Schlauch said the district was “basically bankrupt” by the last two teachers contracts and buyouts given to two administrators last year.

“The pension [costs] are hurting us too,” he said.

He said he would like to bring spending in line with revenues to avoid a tax hike and “protect hardworking families and seniors” in the district while providing an affordable education for students.

The school board is expected to vote on a preliminary budget May 22 and vote on a final budget June 26.