May 22, 2013 2 min read

McMURRAY – Peters Township School Board will vote June 24 on a final budget for the 2013-14 school year although district officials are not saying if a tax increase is anticipated.

A tentative budget of $53,338,189 passed unanimously Monday, reflecting an increase over the 2012-13 budget of $50.8 million. Vincent Belczyk, district business manager, said the board will meet again to discuss how best to have expenditures fit with revenues.

During Monday’s meeting, only the expenditure side of the tentative budget was announced, which is not unusual, said Shelly Belcher, district spokeswoman. She said all of the motions related to the budget were almost identical to similar motions passed in previous years.

“We don’t know what the state will do as it hasn’t approved the final budget,” Belcher said. “We could raise taxes, or we could pull from the fund balance. We will be cutting further and there is no final decision as the numbers are soft.”

One thing Belcher said is the district knows it will not be able to raise taxes above the preset index of about 1.7 percent as the district did not begin the mandatory process needed to raise do so.

All departments, Belcher said, are being asked to look at the budget and to review the figures in an attempt to reach a balanced budget before the end of June.

The board also passed a tentative technology budget for $1,138,486, which does not include salaries and benefits. Those figures are in the general fund budget of $53,338,189. A capital projects budget was passed in the amount of $1,535,994. Money from the capital projects budget may be used only for construction or other related projects and may not be used for salaries or books.

Included in the capital projects budget is a projected $900,000 for replacement turf at the high school athletic field. However, board members William Merrell and Sandra Gregg voted against the tentative capital projects budget, citing one set of recent tests on the existing turf that indicated it meets safety impact standards. Results of a second test have not been received.

Board member Lori Cuervo stressed that even though the potential budget contains the $900,000 for the turf replacement, the board must vote at a later date on the expenditure.

The board will meet again at 6:30 p.m. June 10 to discuss the final budget.