Schools

District Starts Early Budget Process With 'Worst Case Scenerio'

The school district's proposed preliminary budget is an overview of what the budget could look like for the 2012-13 school year. This version is a projection and not the final word.

The attached slide show is presentation of what the budget could look like for the 2012-13 school year for .

This version of the budget is a projection and not the final word on what district taxpayers can expect.

Springfield School District Board of Directors unanimously approved a $66 million proposed preliminary general budget for the 2012-13 school year, that includes a projected $145 average tax increase for homeowners, as presented by Executive Director of Operations Donald Mooney during its regular Jan. 12.

Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The $66,197,720 budget reflects a 3.58 percent increase from the 2011-12 budget.

Mooney said this is the earliest he has ever started working on the budget because the budget cycle has moved up by three weeks due to the election timeline. Districts must introduce preliminary budgets 110 days before the primary election.

Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mooney said the preliminary proposed budget represents a “worst case scenario,” implementing the maximum allowable increase under the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and Act 1.

Under Act 1 districts may not increase budgets by more than a state-determined index and allowable exceptions, which include employee pensions -Pennsylvania School Employee Retirement System (PSERS)- and special education, without holding a taxpayer referendum.

This is the district’s sixth budget under Act 1. The presentation notes that the Act 1 index has ranged from 4.4 percent in 2008-09 to 1.4 percent for 2011-12. The Act 1 index this year is 1.7 percent. Budget projections assume level funding for state subsidies.

Officials assured the public that the preliminary budget is not final word and it serves as a projection so they may meet deadlines to apply for exceptions and/or submit a question for referendum.

The deadline to file for PDE exceptions is Feb. 9 and the deadline to submit a question for referendum is Feb. 24. 

Budget projections include revenues from the Act 1 index of 1.7 percent and Pennsylvania Department of Education exceptions of 1.88 percent for special education and employee pension costs.

The proposed budget projects that homeowners will pay .028 cents on the dollar of their assessed home value in school taxes. The average home value here this year is $145,580, the same median assessed value used to determine the 2011-12 budget.

The average property tax for 2012-13 is estimated at $4,218, a $145 increase from last year’s $4,073.

Real estate taxes account for $47,879,437 of the 2012-13 proposed preliminary general budget. The district’s total assessment for 2012-13 is $1,759,374,797, a $10,575,234 decrease from $1,769,950,031 for 2011-12.

The proposed preliminary general budget includes a projected 3.58 percent or $1,599,000 in allowable Pennsylvania Department of Education increases without a referendum.

The Springfield School District's website explains the early budget process:

"Because of the tax increase index limit and the requirement of referendum approval to exceed that limit, school boards now must approve preliminary budgets earlier in the fiscal year to allow time to ready a referendum vote if necessary. Districts must introduce preliminary budgets 110 days prior to the primary election. Act 1 also requires the adoption of the preliminary budget no later than 90 days prior to the primary election. School boards may waive this early budget process by adopting a resolution that limits any property tax increases for the next fiscal year to the inflationary index or less."

The board will vote on the proposed final budget during its meeting May 10, hold a public budget information meeting May 17 and on June 21 adopt the final budget, pass a resolution to adopt the annual tax levy and implement Homestead/Farmstead exclusions.

Click here for a complete school board meeting calendar.


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