Schools may rethink spending

Ed Mahon

As the state budget debate drags on, Penns Valley Area School District is the only one in Centre County that doesn’t need a Plan B.

That district, which announced layoffs of six employees, is the only one in Centre County that passed a 2009-2010 budget that plans for a worst-case scenario in terms of state funding.

Districts, facing a June 30 deadline to adopt their budgets, had to guess whether the final state budget will be closer to what was proposed in a budget bill passed by Senate Republicans, or to Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell’s budget, which calls for $418 million more in basic education subsidies.

Districts have to send their budgets to the Senate Education Committee, and the 150 or so that have done so already are all over the map, said Aaron Shenck, a Republican committee aide.

“It’s been disappointing that many districts have chosen the higher end — the governor’s numbers — and even worse, some have gone above the governor’s numbers,” he said.

If the state’s budget allocates less than Rendell has proposed, then Bald Eagle, Bellefonte, Philipsburg-Osceola and State College school districts will all be looking at shortfalls. Those shortfalls could range from as much as $300,000 in Philipsburg-Osceola to as much as $600,000 in State College.

State College administrators prepared a list of contingency options should that happen. They include cuts in the conference travel, advertising and field trip budgets by $100,000, $50,000 and $26,000, respectively.

Philipsburg-Osceola, Bald Eagle and Bellefonte officials haven’t publicly identified potential cuts, and say they’ll examine possibilities once the state passes its final budgets.

“We may have to reopen the budget,” superintendent James T. Masullo Jr. told the Bellefonte school board.

Superintendent Dan Fisher told the Bald Eagle Area school board the same, although it would be a first in Fisher’s 20 years as superintendent.

If school boards do reopen their budgets, it’s likely they’ll cut expenses instead of raising taxes. Each Centre County district has room for a larger tax increase under the Act 1 index, but changing the tax rate would pose logistical problems. Most districts send their tax bills out in July.

State College business administrator Jeff Ammerman presented $691,000 in possible savings to the school board last month.

Some of those were areas over which the district does not have immediate control. For instance, it appears as though the district will pay $100,000 less in tuition reimbursements than it originally budgeted for the 2009-2010 school year. Also, if enrollment numbers remain at their current level, the district could eliminate a planned new elementary position. That would yield a $60,000 savings.

The district has more control over cuts, including:

•Reducing the $130,000 field trip budget by 20 percent, or $26,000.

•Eliminating a late bus activity run, saving $60,000

•Reducing the $90,000 advertising budget by $50,000, by only listing job vacancies on free Web sites.

•Reducing the $6 million supplies and equipment budget by 1 percent, saving $60,000.

“It’s a good first ... scrub,” State College board member Jim Pawelczyk said, “and it’s very much appreciated. Let’s hope we don’t have to use it that much.”

Administrators did not prioritize the cuts, saying the board could do so after the state passes its final budget.

“Clearly, if this drives on to December we may have to have a discussion sometime before the state passes its budget,” Ammerman said. “But if the state does pass its budget in July, for example, we can reconvene and then choose amongst these.”

Because of the budget standoff, districts are not currently receiving state money.

Philipsburg-Osceola relies on the state to fund about 61 percent, or $16 million, of its 2009-2010 budget.

Finance director Michael Conte said Philipsburg- Osceola should not have a problem paying bills for at least a month and a half. If a budget is not in place by then, the district may have to take out a loan.

Ed Mahon can be reached at 231-4619. The Associated Press contributed to this report.