Feb 25, 2015 By Cara Host 3 min read

Four decades ago, state tax dollars made up about half of Bethel Park School District’s annual budget, but over the years, the state’s share has dwindled to about 25 percent.

Bethel Park School Director Tim Campbell said the state is shirking its responsibility to public education. The school board passed a resolution Feb. 24 urging state lawmakers to develop a new funding formula for school districts.

“There are great disparities in how the state funds education. It makes it very difficult to plan; we need a formula that is predictable and equitable,” Campbell said.

A “circuit rider” from the Campaign for Fair Education Funding addressed the board last month and asked that they pass a resolution in support of a funding formula. Ronald Dufalla, a retired superintendent from Brentwood School District, said the state’s contribution to school districts often changes annually and can be influenced by politics and other factors.

The campaign is a partnership between various education groups, including the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Several representatives from the campaign have been speaking at school board meetings across the state in an effort to build support for a revamped funding system.

The state used to have a set formula, determined by 1966 and 1983 laws, but that formula was largely abandoned in the early 1990s, Dufalla said. Since then, state funding has remained fairly level, even as costs have increased, resulting in more burden placed on local property taxes.

The state created a commission over the summer to study the education funding formula and it should issue a recommendation by June.

In another matter, the school board moved forward with plans for a $3.3 million renovation project at Washington Elementary.

The district plans to replace the heating and air conditioning system, along with duct work, ceilings, some floors and lighting fixtures. Most of the work will take place over the summer.

The district’s architect, Hayes Design Group of Bridgeville, will prepare the bid specifications and construction documents at a cost that will not exceed $240,000. While the architect completes those tasks and the district awaits bid proposals, the district will purchase HVAC equipment from Trane through the Cooperative Purchasing Network, a national consortium for public schools.

The project is similar to the HVAC replacement at Neil Armstrong Middle School, which was completed two years ago. Bethel Park also has tentative plans to replace the HVAC system at Ben Franklin Elementary School in a few years.

Contractors will bid on the various aspects of the project next month and the school board will likely approve the final bids at a special meeting April 7. If all goes well, light construction should begin May 26, two weeks before the scheduled last day of school. Crews will perform most of the work after school hours and the bulk of the construction will begin after the last day of school, tentatively scheduled for June 4. The project is slated to be finished by Aug. 14.

The board accepted two teacher retirements, Deborah Pritts, high school science teacher and Cathleen Livingston, art teacher at Neil Armstrong, which will be effective at the end of the school year.