Perk Valley School Board to Discuss Pension Reform Resolution

The Perkiomen Valley School Board will discuss adoption a resolution urging the Pennsylvania General Assembly to consider pension reform at its business meeting tonight.

According to the resolution, the employer contribution rate to the Pennsylvania Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) jumped from 564 percent in the 2010-11 school year to 16.93 percent for the 2013-14 school year, a “threefold increase” over the past three years, with projection to raise to 31.43 percent in 2034-35.

A chart in the resolution states that the district expenditures towards the retirement fund went from $1,796,445 in the 2008-09 year, to $5,252,494 in the 2012-13 year.  This year, the projected expenditure is $7,771,073; by 2017-2018, the expenditure is expected to be $18,248,564.

Other funding sources for PSERS must be identified, according to the resolution, including limitations of eligibility and adjustment of benefit levels, according to the resolution.

The resolution suggests a hybrid pension plan that offers a defined benefit and a defined contribution.

According to Governing.com, many governmental entities are opting for hybrid plans, considered a "middle ground" in addression what some consider a pension crisis.

The board will consider this document along with two resolutions that calls on the General Assembly to re-evaluate the funding that the school district is required to provide to charter schools.

 The board voted earlier this year to emphasize governance in its 2013 goals, including "interacting in local and state politics by expressing positions on legislative issues as pertain to public education."