Cost of unfunded mandates tops $12M

FRANCONIA >> In the decade between the beginning of July 2010 and end of June 2019, Souderton Area School District’s mandated costs increased by a total of $20,774,473. The increased state funding the district received to cover those costs, though, was only $7,914,297, Director of Business Affairs Brian Pawling said at the May 12 Souderton Area School Board Finance Committee meeting. That left more than $12 million dollars of additional unfunded mandates.

“We’re made to pay for these costs, but as the costs continue to grow, more of that burden comes back to the local,” Pawling said.

“Those are big impacts to our budget from year to year,” he said, “because those costs go up and we’re left to — through local taxes or any other way that we can find available at the local level — to make up for that difference.”

During the meeting, Pawling updated the board on the proposed 2021-2022 budget picture, along with taking a look at “where we were, where we are and where we’re going,” including projections of what the next five years of budgets might look like. The discussion comes as the district works toward final approval in June of the 20212022 school year budget.

Unfunded mandates are one of the things driving up expenses, Pawling said. Rising pension, charter school and salary and benefits costs are also cited.

The proposed budget includes more than $137 million of expenses and hikes taxes 3 percent, the maximum allowed this year under state caps, but district officials have said they expect the tax hike to be less than 3 percent. Over the past six years, the tax hike has averaged 1.04 percent. Recently received figures put the median assessment for a home in the district at $176,000, Pawling said. Under the current real estate property tax rate of 30.32 mills, the school district tax bill for a property assessed at $176,000 is $5,336.32. A 1 percent tax hike would increase that by $54; a 2 percent hike by $107; and a 3 percent hike by $161, Pawling said. Discussion of the proposed budget is set to continue at the board’s June 2 committee meetings, with a final vote set for June 17.