Presentations and Proposals at Perkiomen Valley School Board Work Session

From the Perkiomen Valley School Board Work Session:

• Board members were surprised to see a 2.62 percent increase—or $62,722—in Perkiomen Valley School District’s share of the proposed Montgomery County Intermediate Unit’s (MCIU) central administration budget. A district’s share is determined by its and the weighted average daily membership (WADM). Perkiomen Valley’s WADM went up, according to district Solicitor Brian Subers.

Board member Randy Bennett, whose committee responsibilities include the MCIU Board, commented, “We (the district) get hit harder because we’re considered more affluent.”

However, board members also noted that PVSD’s , and is considered a “poorer” district than in previous years. That adjustment is not reflected in the intermediate unit’s budget.

Bennett said he would take the spirit of the board’s conversation to the intermediate unit, adding that the MCIU has been working to keep its budget in line with the Act I index, even though it is not bound by those parameters.

The board will further discuss and vote on the budget at the April 11 meeting.

The Souderton Area School Board was recently in the news when it voted against the MCIU budget. Subers told the PV Board that, essentially, the budget is “a bill that has to be paid,” regardless of the vote.

• First- and fourth-grade volunteers attended the beginning of the work session to show board members how they used iPads in their language arts classes. The iPads are part of a pilot program. For information on the K-12 language arts program, click here.

• Changes have been proposed for the summer school program, including moving the ESY program to Middle School West in a separate program and grouping students by need rather than grade.

• There will be another presentation of the district’s preliminary 2011-2012 budget April 11. Business administrator Jim Weaver said the state has approved additional exclusions, but at present there is still a shortfall of about $2.5 million.

After adjourning, the board entered an executive session to discuss labor relations and personnel issues.