Three Budget Scenarios Make Their Way to School Board

Three options, one goal -- to balance the budget for the

The school board's Budget and Finance Committee met Wednesday to discuss what scenarios would be presented to the board at the March 12 meeting.

The meeting, which came on the heels of focused primarily on three budget scenarios to present at the meeting -- no tax increase, a middle-of-the-road tax increase and a maximum millage increase allowed under Pennsylvania law. Each option will come with a list of budget cuts needed to shore up the difference.

"I think it's really important that we show the range of options to [the school board and public], so they can see what exactly will happen under each scenario," said committee chairwoman Corinne Gunkle.

• According to slides presented by business services director Jeremy Melber, if the board voted for a zero tax increase, the school will need to make $5.3 million in additional cuts over the next five years.

• The "middle-of-the-road" scenario raises taxes .5 mills for the first three years and .75 mills for the final two. This scenario leaves the district with approximately $3 million in additional cuts over the next five years.

• If the board votes for the maximum millage increase allowed under the Act 1 Index, the board could raise taxes .77 mills in for the 2012-13 school year, .74 mills for 2013-14, 1.16 mills for 2014-15, 1.65 mills for 2015-16, and 1.85 mills for 2016-17. This scenario would leave the district with a deficit of $500,000 over the next five years.

The different options will be presented to the board, along with additional information on potential budget cuts. The committee will also include a short presentation on how much growth the local economy would need to see in order to not raise taxes or make budget cuts.

"You hear people say 'Why should we raise taxes, the economy is going to turn around,'" said committee member Dr. Elizabeth Stelts. "I want people to see just what kind of economic growth we would have to see to make that a reality."

The committee plans on presenting the board with a series of slides to visually show the impact of each budget, as well as a list of budget cuts based on the cuts presented to the board last year. The committee will also be sending board members the slides in advance of the meeting, as well as attaching the presentation to the March 12 agenda for public review. The committee expects a roll-call vote for one of the three options at the March 12 meeting.

"The board will have time to process [the information] because we'll make it available ahead of time," said Gunkle. "There isn't any reason we can't vote on [which budget option to pursue]. A roll-call vote allows each person to say what option they are voting for."

Though cuts are part of each scenario, Gunkle says that's not what the next school board meeting will be about.

"We're not presenting [the budget options] to debate cuts, we're presenting options for the coming year. If you're voting for a zero tax increase, this is the reality you're looking at."

In 2011, the school board over a series of meetings, . for the 2011-12 school year, which cost each household approximately an additional $23 annually.