COAL TOWNSHIP - Taxpayers in the Shamokin Area School District will once again face no increased millage in the proposed 2011-12 budget, Business Manager Stephan Curran said at Tuesday night's meeting.
Curran explained however, with massive state funding cuts and increased expenditures, the district must use nearly $4 million from the general fund to cover the large deficit.
Total expenditures are $31,829,636. The sources of revenue come from local funding totalling $9,833,704, federal funding totalling $1,705,464, using general fund balance totalling $3,997,000 and state funding totaling $16,293,468, which is a 8.25 percent decrease from the previous year.
"Until the legislators approve the commonwealth budget, we can only speculate what our funding may be," said Curran of Gov. Tom Corbett's plan, which cuts education funding to pre-federal stimulus levels.
Hopefully, said Curran, this is not what happens.
If the projected funding remains as proposed, there will need to be significant cuts in programs, services and staff. Already, the budget for the district shows the positions of four retiring teachers, a retiring librarian, a technology technician and a courier not included next year. Additionally, equipment, supplies and software are reduced, eliminated or not changed.
The $4 million to cover the deficit and additional expenses for the remainder of the school year causes the fund balance to decrease 8.9 percent to $2,670,872 by the end of the 2011-12 school year.
Because of the high fund balance, Curran said state law prohibits the district from raising taxes this year.
The current millage rate has been 25.75 since 1992, said Curran.
If current trends continue in the 2012-13 school year, Curran said the district would have to work hard to balance the budget without raising taxes.
"If this budget remains the same as the governor proposes," said Superintendent James Zack, "we're going to face more challenges than we ever have in any point in history of the school district financially. It will affect kids, it will affect programs, it will affect learning."
The superintendent noted the governor increased state prison funding by 11 percent.
"Obviously we know where his priorities must be," he said.
The proposed budget is expected to be tentatively adopted April 19 and formally adopted June 21.
As a result of financial concerns, the board voted to suspend any new plans to the $13 million elementary school project.
Zack said the project has been discussed since 2004. It would bring students from the Shamokin Area Annex back to the current elementary school in the form of an addition.
"I don't see how we can continue in light of the conditions," said President Charles Carpenter.
Directors Daniel Venn and Todd Hockenbroch made and seconded a motion to suspend the project. It passed unanimously 8-0. Director Tracey Witmer was absent.