Bethel Park approves tentative budget
Bethel Park School District showed a first glimpse of next school year’s budget at the school board’s regular meeting Jan. 23.
The board approved a tentative 2018-19 budget $87.2 million budget, which is about 4 percent larger than this year’s spending plan. However, the numbers will undoubtedly change in the next several months, school officials said, and it’s also too early to predict if a property tax increase is necessary.
“I think we go through at least 10 revisions between now and June,” school director Jim Means said.
Under state law, school boards are required to pass a preliminary budget by mid-February and a final budget by June 30. Instead of passing a preliminary budget so early, school boards could pass a resolution promising not to raise taxes above an inflation index, known as the Act 1 index. The state Department of Education sets the index based on cost-of-living and the wealth of individual school districts. Bethel Park’s index for next school year is 2.9 percent.
School districts that need to raise taxes above the index must either seek approval from voters through a referendum or seek a referendum exception through the state Department of Education. Exceptions can be granted due to school construction debt, special education expenses or pension obligations.
Bethel Park may seek an exception for its pension obligations, but district spokeswoman Vicki Flotta said it’s unlikely Bethel Park will need it. Instead, any tax increase, if needed at all, should be below 2.9 percent.
The school board’s finance committee will meet March 7 to discuss the budget.
In another matter, the board set next year’s school calendar, despite several board members’ objections to the early start date. The first day of the 2018-19 school year will be Aug. 21. The last day of school will be May 31 and high school graduation is scheduled for June 8, 2019. The calendar includes nine potential make-up days, in case school needs to be canceled because of weather or other reasons. Superintendent Joseph Pasquerilla asked for extra make-up days to be included in next year’s calendar due to the difficulty in scheduling make-up days this year without rescheduling high school graduation.
“Still, Aug. 21 sounds extremely early to me,” school director Ken Nagel said.
Four board members, Nagel, Means, Pam Dobos and Barry Christenson, voted against the calendar, but it passed 5-4. The dissenting board members preferred a calendar with an Aug. 28 start date, but fewer potential make-up days.
The board also approved several building improvement projects that the district maintenance staff will take up this summer. Among the projects is installing a new walk-in freezer, cooler unit and boiler pumps at Independence Middle School; improvements to the gymnasium at Lincoln Elementary School; improvements at William Penn Elementary and the installation of a carbon dioxide monitoring system at the high school to make that building more energy efficient.
The board allotted $110,000 to cover the cost of materials. All work will be completed in-house to reduce the costs of these improvements.
It’s possible that the maintenance staff will not be able to complete all of the projects on its list during the summer. If so, the work might be pushed to next summer.
The board also approved several personnel changes including:
- Resignations from Samantha Parks, alternative education English teacher; Betty Francis, second grade teacher at Memorial Elementary, to be effective at the end of the school year; George Schuster and Thomas DePasquale, bus drivers; Dylan Altemara, special education paraprofessional; Anne McGowan, instructional aide paraprofessional; Katherine Anderson, secretary; Carol Pohodich, health services nurse; David Anobile, security guard.
- Closed two positions, 12-month secretary at Neil Armstrong Middle School and part-time special education paraprofessional at William Penn Elementary.
- Opened two positions, 10-month secretary at Neil Armstrong and part-time security guard.
- Transferred two employees. Erin Carter will move from her position as secretary at William Penn to secretary at Neil Armstrong and Denise Harrington will move from part-time spe
- cial education paraprofessional at William Penn to the same position at Neil Armstrong.