by justin strawser
CATAWISSA RR - A handful of Southern Columbia Area School District residents said Monday they feel as if the school board isn't acting as the voice of the people when considering the multimillion-dollar building project and state exceptions for raising taxes.
"We elect you. You are our voice. You're our voice in the whole district, and we feel our voice isn't getting heard," Barb Splitt, of Cleveland Township, said at the school board meeting.
In order to fund the building project, the board decided to raise taxes three times in three years. By doing so, the building project would not go to referendum, a move many residents said the board did intentionally to avoid the project being voted down.
Furthermore, with rising costs for pensions, salary and health insurance, operating expenses and the expected reduction in state funding, the board applied to the state for an exemption to raise taxes more than allowed under Act 1.
"It makes us feel like you're going around Act 1, around us," said Splitt, who said that's why more than 20 residents attended the meeting.
She said the state and federal government has been a problem, too.
"We've been hurt so bad and people are tired of it, and now we're hearing it on the local level," she said.
Director Dave Stellfox said Splitt has attended only two meetings during which those issues were discussed. He also said he didn't know what answer she wanted because the board doesn't have the income to send flyers to every resident or the time to call everyone in the district.
"That's why we have these meetings," said Stellfox.
President Michael Yeager said it isn't the board's primary responsibility to be the voice of the residents.
"We are also the voice of the student," he said. "We need to make decisions based on the quality of education. We need to make sure we have a safe, secure and appropriate environment for our students. We are voices for multiple groups of people."
Vice President Charlie Porter said if the project was on the ballot and voted down, the district would be in the black.
Countered Yeager, "That wouldn't help the students."
Director Eric Stahley, who agreed with the residents, said the board wasn't the correct entity to address if they had problems with Act 1.
"The best way to handle that is talk to your state legislators and tell them you want Act 1 changed," he said.
Deficit reduced
Business Manager Dan Rodgers said he was able to reduce the 2011-12 tentative budget deficit to $224,000, down from last month's $633,000 and down even further from $1 million several months ago.
Part of the reduction is the elimination of 3.5 paraprofessionals.
Rodgers said he would continue looking for changes to reduce the deficit in the budget, which must be approved before the end of the school year.
40 trees removed
In other news, Stellfox reported 40 trees were removed from the campus in relation to the building project. These trees will eventually be replaced by 49 new trees. Also, he said, the clerk of the works is on site at all times during construction.