Board passes $32.2 million budget, holds line on taxes

The East Allegheny school board on Monday night passed a $32.2 million budget for the 2018-2019 school year with no tax increase.

School real estate tax millage will remain at 26.9722 mills.

Board president John Savinda praised district business manager Toni Valicenti’s work on the budget.

“As you know, we’re struggling,” he said. “She did a good job this year to get it [the budget] to where we need it to be.”

Ms. Valicenti said the sale of the former Westinghouse Elementary School for about $225,000, and the fact that the district no longer has to pay $45,000 in yearly utilities for that building were among the factors that helped hold the line on taxes.

Other ways the district saves money include getting locked prices for utilities by being part of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit consortium, by reviewing all service contracts for cost effectiveness and by having buildings maintained by district staff instead of contracting that work out, Ms. Valicenti said.

“Overall, the district board, administration and staff are always looking for ways to curtail spending and only purchase needs while maintaining quality education as well as seeking out grants,” she said in an email Tuesday.

The board also voted to add one first-grade class and two special education classes at Logan Elementary School.

The addition of the firstgrade class was needed because of an increase in enrollment from about 104 to 136 in the fall, said superintendent Don MacFann.

Mr. MacFann said the district currently pays more to the AIU for special education services than any other Allegheny County district because East Allegheny has one of the largest numbers of special education students among districts in the county.

“We need to look at alternatives,” he said.

In other business, a majority of school directors voted to terminate the district’s contract with Marshal Protection Inc., the company that provides the district’s security guards.

Mr. MacFann said the company did “a great job,” but the board just wants to seek a company that might be a better fit with district needs.