Board continues budget talks

Friendship Elementary School set to be closed as one way to save district money

CALN » Coatesville Area School Board directors continued ongoing discussions about the district’s proposed 2018- 19 budget at their Financial Committee meeting Monday evening. The school board previously passed a draft of the general fund budget at ameeting April 24.

The budget is set at about $ 178 million and includes a tax hike of 8.4 percent, or 2.95 mils, which would increase the property tax bill by about $ 317 for the average taxpayer in the district, according to a presentation on the district’s website.

Business Manager Jeff Ammerman gave a report on the series of town hall meetings the district has been holding to talk to residents about the budget.

He said about 80 district residents attended the town hall at Caln Elementary and almost as many people attended the town hall at Kings Highway Elementary last week. Another town hall was set for Tuesday evening at East Fallowfield Elementary.

There has been a lot of concern in the community about the 8.4 percent tax increase in the district’s proposed budget, Ammerman said. He said the district had received about 30 emails about the budget from residents, and

the district had responded to all the emails received through Friday. The district encourages community members to share their ideas and suggestions on the budget by emailing budgetfeedback18@casdschools.org.

The proposed budget is set to be presented for final adoption at a school board meeting on May 29 at 7 p. m. at the Coatesville Area Senior High auditorium.

For more information on the proposed budget, visit www.casdschools.org.

The largest line item in the budget is staff salary and benefits, at $ 74.2 million The next three highest line items on the budget are: charter school tuition, debt services, and special education services and placements at $ 40.7 million; $ 16 million; and $ 15.7 million respectively.

Other line items on the budget include student transportation, building maintenance, vo- tech tuition, and supplies, textbooks and equipment.

Ammerman said that pensions, charter school tuition and special education services have been the main drivers of increased costs for the district. He noted that in the 2010- 11 school year, the total cost of pensions, charter tuition and special education accounted for 29 percent of the budget, but in the 201617 school year, those three factors accounted for 44 percent of the budget.

State law requires public school districts to pay a tuition fee for each student in the district that attends a charter school.

Ammerman said all public school districts are wrestling with charter expenses, but CASD has the bulk of charter school expenses compared to other districts in Chester County.

CASD’s total charter

cost for the 2016- 17 school year was $ 33.9 million; the school district with the next highest charter cost for that year in the county was Avon Grove with $ 10,178,557, according to Ammerman’s presentation. He said CASD had the fifth highest amount of charter school expenses out of all public school districts in the state for the 2016- 17 school year.

He said part of the problemis that the state Legislature has cut funding which used to help public school districts with charter school expenses. The state used to reimburse all districts for nearly 30 percent of charter school costs, but since the 2011- 12 school year, the state has not provided any funding for charter school costs, he said.

The district is in a challenging situation, but steps are being taken to address costs, Ammerman said.

He said the district eliminated more than 30 positions throughout the 201718 school year, and will use further savings in reduced positions through attrition in the 2018- 19 school year.

The district has also moved some employee groups to a high deductible health plan to reduce costs, he said.

The district is set to close Friendship Elementary School as another way to save money. Starting next school year, students who previously attended Friendship Elementary will be evenly transferred to three existing elementary schools in the district.

The school board voted 7- 0 to pass a resolution to close Friendship Elementary School at its special meeting following the committee meetings. Board members Brandon Rhone and Robert Marshall were not present. The final step for closing the school is for the district to send written notification to teachers. The district plans to have the building demolished before fall 2019.

During the public comment portion of the Financial Committee meeting, several district residents urged board members not to raise taxes in the district by 8.4 percent. Residents expressed concerns that people

in the district may have to move if taxes are raised too high. Residents also said the students deserve a quality education and teachers should be paid as much as possible, but there needs to be a balance in the budget.

Amber Little- Turner, a mother of four who lives in the district and is running as a Republican for state representative of Pennsylvania’s 74th Legislative District, said she is disappointed and frustrated with the proposed tax increase, and she wants to fight for property tax reform in the state House of Representatives.

She said the charter school issue is not a function of state funding, but rather that the district is losing an ever- growing number of students to charter schools, and the solution is for CASD to becomemore competitive so it can keep its students in the district.

Board President Dean Snyder noted that he voted against the proposed budget because he can’t support an 8.4 percent tax increase, and

the taxpayers can’t afford that. He said charter school enrollment is the elephant in the room for the budget, but the district needs to take some responsibility for why students are leaving the district and going to charter schools instead.

He mentioned that the district is hosting a charter school summit this Saturday at Coatesville Area Senior High.

The “Rediscover Coatesville 2018 Charter School Summit” runs from 10 a. m. to 2 p. m. Saturday at CASH, 1445 Lincoln Highway, Coatesville, PA 19320.

The free program, open to the public, will showcase the educational opportunities offered at CASD, and provide an interactive experience for all those who attend. The event is intended for families who may have considered transitioning out of a charter or faith- based school but wondered if CASD was the right fit for their student. Those interested in attending the event can register at http://bit.ly/2D4d0fG.