T/E School Board Works to Close Budget Gap

Tredyffrin/Easttown School District officials held a budget workshop earlier this month to find solutions to reduce the 2015-2016 budget deficit that will help avoid approving a 3.63 percent tax hike that would cover the $5.3 million gap.

District Business Manager Art McDonnell presented a revenue breakdown and analysis, Pennsylvania School Employee Retirement System (PSERS) impacts, and projections for the 2015-2016 preliminary school budget during the workshop on March 9.

Also presented was the board-approved staffing plan for district aides and paraprofessionals. The school board recently approved that weekly work hours for aides, para-educators and para-professionals would be capped at 27.5 hours, effective July 1. Employees that wish to work more hours can enroll with a third party vendor that will assign staff to the T/E School District according to student and district needs. Once a vendor has been selected, employees will be asked to make a decision by May 1.

The 2015-2016 preliminary budget includes a tax increase of approximately 3.68 percent, or $188 on the average assessed home in Tredyffrin/Easttown. The projected preliminary budget imbalance of approximately $5.3 million is addressed through property tax revenue from the Act 1 index of 1.9 percent, projected referendum exception tax revenue of 1.78 percent and a contribution from fund balance.

A second public Budget Workshop is scheduled for April 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Conestoga High School. The T/E Board and administration plan to hold several more public meetings before voting on a proposed final budget at its regular meeting on April 27 and then vote on the final budget on June 15.