11/30/2011
USC teachers facing job cuts
By Carla Valentine Myers for The Almanac writer@thealmanac.net
Even if they get exceptions to raise the tax hike ceiling, a budget proposal discussed Nov. 28 by the Upper St. Clair School Board would cut 14 teaching positions and six support staff positions.
The district's director of business and finance told the school board Nov. 28 that she expects to recommend at its final meeting of 2011 that the board propose a 2012-13 preliminary budget showing a nearly $2.8 million shortfall.
A preliminary budget is required to be proposed by Jan. 5 if the district intends to apply to the state for exceptions that would allow them to raise taxes higher than their 0.337 mill ceiling for 2012-13.
Expenditures are currently projected at $63,833,907, with revenues falling short by $2,798,428.
The district could apply for an exception of $600,000 for pension payments, and $230,000 for special education costs. The pension exception would permit the district to raise taxes another 0.352 mills and the special education exception would permit another 0.135 mills of taxes. This would bring to 0.82 the total tax hike for 2012-2013, if approved by the state.
Combined with the use of $400,000, which the board had been saving for future pension fund payments, the additional taxes would bring the budget deficit down to $1,568,428.
Frosina Cordisco, director of business and finance, said the district will also be able to apply for an exception to raising taxes related to the amount of debt that the district incurred prior to the approval of Act 1. The act sets a ceiling on how much each district can raise taxes each year without applying for exceptions or putting an additional tax hike to a referendum.
She said the amount of that potential exemption has not been calculated due to the difficulty of portions of the existing debt at the time having been refinanced several times to date. She said she hopes to have an estimate of that number in December.
The board meets to reorganize on Dec. 5. Its final meeting of 2011 will be Dec. 12.
Patrick O'Toole, district superintendent, presented a possible budget scenario to the board Nov. 28 that would erase the final $1.5 million shortfall.
That budget would include eliminating 14 teaching positions and six support staff positions. In addition, the budget would cut technology spending by $100,000 and operations and maintenance spending by $100,000.
This would leave the district with a $8,919 surplus in the 2012-13 budget.
"Those are pretty drastic cuts," O'Toole said. "We need to look at staff cuts to balance the budget."
O'Toole said they usually plan for 5 teachers to retire each year, but this year they may get as many as 10. That would mean two thirds of those eliminated positions would be lost through attrition.
"On Feb. 1, we'll have a better idea of retirements," he said.
Cordisco told the board Nov. 28 that even if the district applies for the exceptions to raise taxes higher than the allowed rate, they would not have to follow through and do that.
"Applying for exceptions provides us with flexibility," she said.
Rebecca Stern, board vice president, said "all we're saying is we want to keep our options open."
The alternative to moving forward with the preliminary budget in December is to adopt a resolution before Jan. 10 that the board does not intend to raise taxes by more than 0.337 mills.
Board President Harry Kunselman asked what happens if the board neither proposes a preliminary budget by Jan. 5, nor adopts a resolution to not raise taxes beyond 0.337 mills by Jan. 10.
District staff said they would have to research that question and report back to the board regarding potential consequences.
District solicitor Robert Prorok told the board that if they did not proceed with the process to apply for the exceptions in any of those three areas, then they would not be able to raise taxes higher than 0.337 mills.
Normally, school boards consider preliminary and final budgets in May and June--the months leading up to the implementation of a new budget on July 1. Applying for the exceptions does not alter the June 30 deadline for final budget adoption.
The state not only places taxation limitations on school boards, but also limits the reasons for eliminating teaching positions. O'Toole said they can only be eliminated due to a reduction in enrollment, a change or elimination of programs, or attrition.
Elective areas like foreign languages, physical education and music could be eliminated or reduced in order to successfully justify a furlough, he said. For example, music education could be altered to be offered at a later grade than it is now.
http://www.thealmanac.net/alm/story11/11-30-2011-USC-to-cut-jobs
