MOUNT CARMEL - The projected budget shortfall at Mount Carmel Area School District is significant but compared to its neighbors, it's much more manageable.
The district's preliminary budget for 2012-13, adopted Thursday by the school board, estimates revenues at $15,977,187 and expenditures at $16,652,291.
That leaves a $675,104 budget shortfall.
Compare that to previously estimated deficits for three area districts: Shamokin Area, $5.6 million; Line Mountain, $2.2 million; Southern Columbia, $1.1 million.
A portion of Mount Carmel Area's shortfall could be erased with increased tax revenue.
The board proposed the real estate millage to rise by 0.9 mill for district residents of Northumberland County.
A single mill generates about $69,000 revenue, according to Charles J. Mannello, district business consultant.
Real estate taxes are levied in the county against a property's fully assessed value. Each mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of the assessment.
The current rate for Northumberland County is 40.47 mills. A property assessed at $20,000 would be taxed by the district at $809.40. Under the proposed rate, that tax bill would rise to $829.20.
District residents in Centralia, Columbia County, of which there are few, face a 2.107 mill hike, which would bring the total millage to 21.3197.
Tax information for Columbia County was unavailable as of press time.
Overview
Next school year's projected revenues and expenditures are down from the current year's final budget figures of $16,048,648 and $16,671,333, respectively.
Local revenues are projected to be up but funding from state and federal sources are projected to fall.
Spending on the regular elementary and secondary programs is projected to remain about the same. However, increases to special education could top $547,000.
Spending on support services and vocational education is also down.
The district is awaiting work on its Pre-K Counts grant application, Mannello said, which could bolster the pre-kindergarten program.
The district also applied for a grant that could bring it $5 million over the next five years, Donna Veach, elementary principal, said during Thursday's meeting. It's unclear what the grant funding would be used for or, if awarded, if it would impact next year's budget.
Increases to retirement contributions and health care are estimated at about $400,000, according to Mannello. That could be covered, he said, by using money from the district's existing fund balance - a figure that can roll over from one school year to the next.
Work in progress
School districts' preliminary budgets are working documents with figures often adjusted before final versions are adopted by the June 30 deadline.
For instance, Shamokin Area's projected deficit is down to at least $4.6 million following substantial cuts to equipment and supply purchases; Southern Columbia's is down to an estimated $400,000 due to budget cuts and staff attrition, along with implementing a four-day school week for January and February.
Mount Carmel Area's deficit has already been chipped away.
After Thursday's meeting, board President Nicholas Goretski put it at more than $500,000.
Staff attrition is expected to play a large role in making up the remainder of the shortfall.
Planned retirements, early retirements and resignations as well as staff furloughs could all go a long way toward shaping the final budget, Goretski said.
"Nothing is off the table," said director Thomas Ditchey, a sentiment echoed by Goretski.
State impact
The main variable in what shape school budgets take is state funding.
The state's education spending won't be firmed until the legislature adopts its own budget, also due at the end of June. While area administrators and school directors generally expect the state to hold the line on basic education subsidies - Mount Carmel received $7,713,899 last year - those projections could change.
School officials must also await word on Accountability Block Grants.
Under former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, district's enjoyed boosted state revenue through the grants. The sitting governor, Republican Tom Corbett, would like to see the program end.
Last year, Corbett attempted to kill off the grants. That funding was restored - albeit by less than half of what had been allocated in 2010 - in a last-minute effort by the Legislature.
The governor has again proposed the program's demise and it remains to be seen how the Legislature will respond.