- State funding, which represents 15-16% of the budget, is an unknown since Governor Corbett has not proposed his budget.
- Staffing needs have yet to be determined. The deadlines for Student Course Selections as well as Kindergarten Interviews are no later than February 1.
- Retirements
- Health care increases represent 10% of the budget.
- Proposed legislation for PSERS
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Fake budget will be posted soon
At last night's school board meeting, Jan Klein identified the unknowns which impact preliminary budgets.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
25 comments:
I trust the District did not tell the Community how we are doing against budget and how we are forecast to do by year end.
This would also be typical for this time of year and just as silly as a fake budget.
The Board and Community deserve to always have the best available information.
The word fake should be in quotes and attributed to Ms. Klein who actually used that term in a public meeting in describing this farce to a bewildered school board.
This process is REALLY employed to ensure exceptions to the Act 1 limit of an otherwise max budget increase of 1.7% will be allowed by PDE and the Public Schools Act.
FYI-
"Federal Cuts to Education Left Unresolve
EdSource, News Report, John Fensterwald,Posted: Jan 02, 2013
Congress’ New Year’s Day drama, ending a stalemate over extending tax cuts for all but the wealthy, delays rather than resolves an across-the-board 8.2 percent decrease in federal education spending. That’s the spending piece of the “fiscal cliff” that Congress decided to put off deciding until early March."
Regardless of what happens to federal spending in March or Jan's "Fake" budget the district's rapidly rising spending will come out of our pockets.
11:14 your second paragraph explains it all. Without this exercise the district would be forced to live within it means.
Your title "Fake budget will be posted soon" made me laugh because a former board member just recently used the words "phony budget" to describe the proposed spending plan.
Elaine, I received this from a friend of mine.
If not for Act 1, the districts would be living under Act 71 that applies to the county and the municipalities--that is, following a reassessment, get millage to be revenue neutral first, then, if the governing body wants to get up to 5% more revenue take another vote, and, if they want more than that, go to the courts. Works the same for every other county with the exception that they can get 10% more rather than the 5% here. Act 1 pulled all school districts in the state into the "previous Act 1 index following a reassessment" method.
The idea here is that the 5% limit on assessments USED to exist until the new Act 1 was passed. Now Mt. Lebanon school district is subject to the Act 1 limits even with the reassessments.
That means the bonds will need to be subject to the Act 1 limits and Jan comes up with a way to avoid an Act 1 referendum.
I suspect very much that the bonds will require capitalized interest to reduce payments in the front years only to have much higher balloon payments later to the detriment of us taxpayers.
I hope the school board sees through this and actually puts the bonds to an Act 1 referendum this time around...not because I think they will fail, but because if they do pass, it will be beneficial to the Mt. Lebanon taxpayer in the long run.
"I suspect very much that the bonds will require capitalized interest to reduce payments in the front years only to have much higher balloon payments later to the detriment of us taxpayers."
When Jan is sitting poolside, sipping Mai Tai's, and enjoying her retirement.
In the meantime: http://www.mtlsd.org/district/budget/stuff/03_budget2012_13_earlydiscussion_sept_2011.pdf
Elaine
Jan used capitalized interest on the middle school bonds because the Board only wanted a one mill increase instead of the more responsible 1 1/4 mill that would have saved the community tax dollars over the long term. Capatalized interest means the District will borrow the money to pay interest on the bond issue. In other words it is a careless way to use the District credit card (bond issue).
John Ewing
From today's Almanac:"“If we would approve this it allows us to preserve the option of increasing millage to the index limit,” board president Elaine Cappucci said. “It does not mean we will. In my opinion, I would not foresee taxes being raised to the maximum level.”"
I don't know for some reason Mrs. Cappucci's words aren't very reassuring.
Haven't we heard this line before? Maybe a journey back to April 2011 will stir our memories.
Bloglebo headline:
"High-school bids exceed $113 million, despite assurances to the contrary"
Post Gazette:
"Mt. Lebanon school board wants reasons for high bids
There was anger, frustration and confusion as school board members tried to figure out why bids came in 16.5 percent higher than expected for their planned $113.2 million high school renovation."
Trib:
"Mt. Lebanon board awaits answers on high project bids
"We don't want to take these bids to a referendum, because I don't think anyone on this board or in this community wants to spend this much," said board member Elaine Cappucci." [good thinking Elaine, a wall doesn't have to fall on you does it?]
What's that old adage - "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me!"
Madame President, if you are truly confident you won't need to go to the maximum index limit DON'T leave the window open to do so. Live within your budget.
What will happen if you're wrong? Think the state will let MTLSD go belly up?
2:31 PM, I know who you are and let me just say that you are part of the problem.
I see nothing laughable about a fake budget, a phoney budget, a false budget, or any other kind of a budget that is not truthful. Jan Klein is not being paid to be a fiction writer.
Elaine
Did Mt. Lebanon lose its VOICE? Are they no longer "committed to getting the facts [...] out to the community"?
"VOICE of Mt. Lebanon is committed to getting the facts of the high school project out to the community, especially the following
The $113 million for the project is a ceiling for expenditures. The board is taking every step to lower the actual cost of the project, which realistically could come in well below $100 million
VOICE of Mt. Lebanon will pursue many avenues to educate the community. For additional information, please contact [Xxxxx Xxxxxxx] at [xxx-xxx-xxxx] cell [xxx-xxx-xxxx] or [xxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.""]
Realistically VOICE, the project didn't come in well below $100 million and it's a very real possibility it may yet go over the $113 million ceiling, but go on keep drinking that Kool-Aide.
Here we are in the afternoon of Wednesday Jan. 16 and the phony budget has not been posted, as promised, but the slide presentation from Monday's meeting was revealing, it said:
"Millage rate may have to be phased in over a period of time so that debt payments will be affordable under Act 1 millage rate limitations"
Upper St. Clair used this bond-phase-in device to pay for their new toys and the phase-in cost USC taxpayers $2,000,000,000 in extra taxes.
How much extra will Ms. Klein nail Mt. Lebanon for in the new bond float? Remember she already squandered $5,000,000 by issuing the 2009 bonds early.
Dr. Steinhauer you have a real mess in your finance department. No wonder Mrs. Cappucci won't appoint a Finance Committee !!!!!!!!!!!
John Ewing
I know they have money in USC, but $2 billion? Must be that TERC Investigations math.
Sorry, that should have been $2 million.
John
Here is the presentation to last year's fake preliminary budget. http://multimedia.mtlsd.org/Play.asp?415841045040036!4
As Jan Klein explained on Dec. 13,2011, it was a month early due to the Presidential Election. But her reasons for providing a fake budget remain consistent with her reasons this year. Even though we are into the middle of January and have eliminated a couple of unknown variables that were part of last year's "preliminary" budget, we still don't see anything on the District site. For those of you unable to locate the budget on the District website, it is a little tricky.
On the home page, select "School Board." On that page, click on Budget at the top of the page, or just use this link:
http://www.mtlsd.org/District/Budget/default.asp
Elaine
Monday evening WTAE-TV reported that North Hills School District had experienced a decline in students from 1500 to 1200 in their high school. As a result they were laying-off 23 teachers and all the aids not required by the State law. Let's hope that the expense of the high school doesn't cause a future board to take a similar action in Mount Lebanon.
I understand BP voted last night to reduce graduation requirements. They are in dire straits.
Elaine
It was a discussion to reduce the amount of credits required for graduation. http://www.bpsd.org/Downloads/Committee%20Meeting%20-%201-15-13%20(Website).pdf
Elaine
This from the BP Superintendent in December.
"Many of the school districts in western Pennsylvania have dealt with these difficulties by furloughing staff. To date, Bethel Park has been able to avoid massive layoffs by streamlining our administrative team and cutting back on all levels of staffing through attrition. We have also required that the families of our students assume some of the financial burden by providing materials and supplies (previously provided by the District) and paying fees to allow their children to participate in extra-curricular activities."
This is happening in the Avalon and Bellevue area.
Northgate School District citizens came in great numbers to speak about how wonderful and supportive the teachers and aids are. It was heart warming to hear the dozens of students from as young as 6th grade speak. After 3 hours the school board, without discussion, and almost unanimously, voted to furlough 23 teachers and 11 aids. That is about 20 percent of the staff! Just so you understand, the board hired a 31 year old hatchet man to clean up the school district, and he did it within 6 months! The school board sold out the kids and the voters who put them in office! By the way, they decided to take a couple weeks to decide on whether to publish The Torch, a PR magazine! What is wrong with this picture??!!
Sounds like The Torch is another MTL magazine!
Elaine
What does "soon" mean to Jan Klein.
Still not posted.
7:44 AM, "Soon" is District speak for at least a month. We read in the PG on March 20 where Josephine Posti was quoted as saying that the donor for the PK feasibility study would be revealed in the next few days. It took over a month. I blogged about the new donors on April 25.
But if you consider that the grievance was coming up in the Fall, and we still haven't heard anything, then it could be months.
I'd say to give Jan a month, "typical for this time of year."
Elaine
Here is the timetable that Jan Klein is referring to in Act 1 of 2006
where she she writes
"According to Act 1 of 2006, the Board must present a budget for
public view in January for Board approval in February. If the
Board would like to maintain the option of applying for exceptions to the Index, the approved budget in February must be high enough to reflect the need for the exceptions. Due to the lack of
information concerning staffing, student course selections, retirements, healthcare cost increases and State funding proposals, I recommend the Board consider approving a budget so that we preserve the ability to apply for exceptions if we need them. Such a budget has been prepared and will be reviewed with the Board before it is placed on the website for public inspection. Note that if the Board desires, it has the right to pass a resolution to ‘not exceed the Index’ by the end of January which would eliminate the need to approve a budget in February."
Elaine
So if the Board thinks that it is within the realm of possibility to keep with the Act 1 limit of a 1.7% tax increase, then it will relieve itself of its duty to formalize a fake budget in February.
If they decide that there is a chance that they might need to be fiscally irresponsible budget, then they will pass this fake budget, asking for fake exceptions, and asking for fake tax increases that may never materialize for fake expenses that never existed.
Sounds like the easy thing would be to get Jan to produce a budget that is LIKELY to happen given what she knows today and spare the Board the aggravation and the public the show.
The Board must present "a" budget, not "the" budget.
Elaine
Post a Comment