Kutztown proposes budget with deficit but no tax increase

Board approves facilities projects

The Kutztown School Board approved the Proposed Final Budget with no tax increase and an estimated $60,000 deficit for the 2022-23 school year.

With revenues of $35,031,361 and expenditures of $35,691,112, the Real Estate Tax is set to remain 29.9543 mils.

Prior to the 8 to 1 vote, board members debated a tax increase to cover the deficit.

Al Darion said his biggest concern is a $420,000 shortfall from this year.

“I’m very concerned that we would be folding from one year into the deficit for the next year,” said Darion. “We’ve managed to go 6 or 7 years without a tax increase even though many of those years had a deficit budget but either we had unexpected (revenue) or less expenses and we’ve lucked out. This last year we did not luck out.”

Darion warned that continuing to have a deficit budget will take away the Fund Balance very quickly.

In favor of a .6 mill tax increase, which later failed to pass, Darion said the average homeowner would pay an additional $60 per year and cover much of the $420,000 shortfall. He believes a $60 increase shouldn’t be too much of a financial hardship.

During public comment, Jennifer Kaufinger of Kutztown wanted the board to consider as they are making their final budget.

“What we heard is that what you approve tonight could look nothing like the final budget,” she said. “One of the board members made the impression that a tax hike on the residents of Kutztown wouldn’t be a problem because he’s gotten a raise. An overwhelming majority of people in this district right now are struggling beyond belief. Having trouble deciding whether to buy food or gas, how they’re going to get their kids from this place to that place. It’s a real struggle right now and it’s only getting worse. We cannot handle any tax hike.”

“Figure out how to responsibly spend the taxes, ESSER funds and whatever other funds you have coming in. Do it responsibility and act like every member of this community has to. You make this much money, you spend this much money. When you don’t, you stop,” said Kaufinger. “Figure out how to spend it wisely. Do not raise our taxes because we cannot handle it.”

Board president Randy Burch believes that between Access funds, ESSER money and increased funding from the state district would not raise taxes.

The budget will be further discussed at the next Budget and Finance meeting.

In other news, the Board appointed Elizabeth A. Siteman as treasurer to the Kutztown Area Board of School Directors for the 2022-2023 school year at a stipend of $1,050, same rate as previous years.

Under Curriculum, the board approved the proposed partnership with Truth Initiative for curriculum and programs to support vaping awareness and prevention.

“I just want to publicly thank Kutztown Strong for partnering with us and actually connecting us with Truth Initiative for programing in the middle school,” said Superintendent Christian Temchatin.

School administrators have been meeting with Kutztown Strong, Kutztown police and Mayor Jim Schlegel to tackle the vaping issue in Kutztown, he said.

Facilities

A number of projects were approved for facilities, which be funded using the district’s funds set aside for construction projects, explained board treasurer David Miller.

High School Floor

The Board approved the agreement with Division 9 Contract Flooring to repair flooring in the Kutztown Area High School cafeteria at a cost of $5,605 to be done over the summer.

“There are tiles down the middle of the cafeteria, the floor is heaving,” said board member Michelle Batz, a Facilities Committee member. “The tiles are actually popping so there’s some remediation there for safety concerns of kid tripping on broken tiles.”

While excavating a section of the floor to determine the source of the problem and develop a plan to prevent this from happening again was discussed at great length at the committee meeting, Batz said the committee felt repairing the floor was the best step forward from a cost and safety perspective. Administration was directed to investigate prior to the floor repair.

“The belief is that it’s down at the water table and being that its right in the middle of the high school cafeteria, that’s going to have some significant cost,” said Temchatin. “It’s nobody’s favorite project; every five years we’re going to have to spend some money fix it again. We did not get a direct quote on what it would cost to excavate it but it’s going to be extremely costly even to find out what the real source is to develop a plan to fix it.”

Basketball Nets

A KHS basketball backboard winch system was approved for C.M. Eichenlaub Co. to install wireless operation backboard winches at a cost of $23, 808.

Currently, a staff member has to hold the backboard and use a drill to manually move the basketball nets up and down. She said there are concerns with the antiquated system, noting reports of injuries from other places.

“It’s not a safe system to be using,”

A wireless system uses a remote; simply pushing a button would move the basketball nets.

High School Doors

Another safety concern is the number of different keys needed for the high school door locks.

“In a panic situation, it’s not an ideal a number of keys to be fumbling through to find the right one to open a door,” said Batz.

There are 97 doors that need to be rekeyed in order for there to be one master key for the high school.

“We felt from a safety perspective it’s something that we can’t overlook. It is of significant cost but we really need to make sure that this finally done.”

The 97 door locks need to be replaced to bring them in line with the district system.

“The high school has a variety of different keys while the other schools have a standard system so (the high school locks) all have to be done to bring them in line with that system,” said Temchatin.

“This is only portions of the high school; there are portions that already have this lock,” said Batz.

A.G. Mauro Company based in York County evaluated every door in the building and determined what locks needed to be replaced to match a majority of the door locks that are already in place, said Batz.

The Board approved an agreement with The A.G. Mauro Company to replace the locks on doors at high school at a cost of $64, 460 as a capital expense. This includes locks for 97 doors and labor for installation.

Prior to the vote, whether the district sought quotes from other companies was questioned and one company based in Allentown was suggested, but Miller noted that district can only use COSTARS vendors, which is the state’s cooperative purchasing program.

Temchatin said the district has used A.G. Mauro for all of its locks in the past and this is the company that evaluated the school locks.

“Per lock, this is the best price that we’ve been able to get from A.G. Mauro,” said Temchatin. “We get a lot of quotes anymore that everybody feels are excessive, but that’s in our personal lives and our professional lives. We’ve seen the cost of getting work done is increasing every day.”

“There’s a lot of work that goes into identifying the areas of need within the district and a lot of work that goes into finding quality vendors,” added Temchatin. “When money is wasted is when bad work is done. By using vendors that we know, we do know the quality of work that will come from it. That is why we use COSTARS vendors that we’ve used previously.”

School Campus Mowing

The Board approved an agreement with Kohler Landscapes, Kutztown, to mow and trim district properties as needed this summer.

Batz said the district obtained other quotes but there was no availability on their schedules.

“We’re in a situation where we’re down staff members and we just don’t have the staff to be able to mow all of the grass in the district,” said Batz.

Temchatin noted that four summer employees were also approved (at the meeting that night) to cut grass and there is a plan to cut Maxatawny on a weekly basis.

Youth are also encouraged to apply for a lawn mowing job, which the district has received a few applications but more are welcome.

“You may have noticed in Cougar Prints and in text messaging that there was an effort by the administration to get the word out that it’s a great summer job for kids 16 years and older to be hired by the district to help with the lawn mowing so that is an opportunity that is out there for students,” said Batz. “They don’t have to be within the district.”

“We’re finding ways to piecemeal some of the properties throughout the summer,” said Temchatin, adding that Kohler Landscape would fill in the gap.

The district would be charged for each time Kohler Landscape cuts the grass at a property. Each cut would be at the district’s request.

“Honestly, we’re grateful to Kohler Landscapes for providing us with this flexible of an agreement,” said Temchatin.

“So they will come as needed; they’re on an on-call basis,” said Dennis Ritter.