SMETHPORT — During Tuesday’s meeting of the Smethport Area Board of Education, superintendent David London reported on the preliminary 2019-20 budget, which currently shows a $245,949 deficit.
Currently, the proposed budget shows total revenues of $15,436,404 and total expenses of $15,682,353.
As London narrated and explained “A Look at the Budget” in a Powerpoint presentation, he was confident that the administration can close the budget gap prior to the school board adopting the preliminary spending plan by May 31 and submitting the final budget to the Pennsylvania Department of Education by June 30.
London said, “The administration is proposing to close the gap and balance the budget by adding the index increase of $109,780, transferring $32,599 from the Public School Employees’ Retirement System’s Designated Fund Balance and transferring $103,570 from the Debt Service DFB.”
In addition, the administration has local control over high school staffing and more efficient scheduling, as well as overall staffing reductions in certain areas or via attrition and opportunity.
“Our approach to challenges has been in these five areas — doing a little bit of everything so the impact to taxpayers and our educational programs is minimal,” London said.
In recent years, the school board has adopted a resolution electing not to raise its tax rate that exceeds the index established by the PDE.
During the 2008-09 fiscal year, the school directors and administration set up a PSERS DFB, setting aside funds for dramatic increases in retirement system costs. “This is one of the accounts the district relies on in cases of gaps between revenues and expenditures,” London said.
If the school board OKs the transfer of the PSERS money, this DFB would be approximately $1.54 million.
The district’s PSERS contributions account for 14 percent in the overall costs of the proposed budget.
Business Manager Sue Jordan said, “We’re tapping into the fund balances at minimal levels.”
Due to the uncertainty of the state raising the minimum wage to $12.50 as proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf, the district’s tentative budget is based on a $10.00 figure.
London also pointed to other cost-efficient measures recently enacted.
“Smethport is in a consortium of school districts and is in a claims-based program for health care. Additionally, the district has lowered health care costs in its current professional contract with the teachers by switching to a qualified high deductible health care plan that provides quality health care at a reduced rate to the district.”
Noting that state’s Basic Education subsidy, special education funding and Social Security/PSERS subsidies are up, London said Wolf’s budgets have helped public education and school districts, but said “there is still a lot of work to be done in Pennsylvania in the areas of adequate and equitable funding for students in both rural and urban areas.”
