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Peters Township School District aiming to trim budget

3 min read
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McMURRAY – Peters Township School District has 47 students who attend either a cyber or charter school, costing it $8,600 each in tuition this year. During the last eight years, the district spent $2.9 million in tuition payments to these schools.

At its Monday meeting, the school board passed a resolution asking its elected officials to support legislation that would reduce the financial burden on school districts’ tuition payments to cyber and charter schools, especially if a school district demonstrates an exemplary academic performance.

“We’re asking the Legislature to correct the amount of tuition we have to pay,” said board member Lisa Anderson.

Anderson said there are no cost savings when district schools have an overall state school performance profile score of 94.26 percent, while district cyber and charter school test results vary from a low of 42.6 percent to a high of 66 percent.

In other business, the board passed another resolution seeking some relief to its pension obligations to current and former district employees. For the 2015-2016 school year, the district’s annual contribution rate will be 25.84 percent, which means a projected increase of $863,137 from the current school year. By the 2019-2020 school year, the rate is expected to be 32.23 percent.

In its resolution, the board is asking the General Assembly to consider school employee pension reform with the dual purpose of reducing the projected employer contribution rate increases during the next five years, and reducing the projected costs to school districts and taxpayers.

“It is an unreasonable burden on our taxpayers,” Anderson said. “It is also unacceptable for Peters. We are a conservative spending district.”

The district, however, is looking at a tax increase when it passes its budget in June. Preliminary budget numbers show the district is facing a $2.5 million budget shortfall for the 2015-2016 school year. The board is considering raising the real estate tax by 2.3 mills, which would bring the gap to $1.87 million.

If a Peters homeowner paid $1,000 a year in school tax, that amount would likely increase by $18.95 a year when the district passes its budget.

The district’s anticipated budget for the upcoming school year is $60.45 million. Revenue, however, is expected to top out at $57.91 million. The district gets 30 percent of its revenue from the state, while the remainder comes from local sources.

On an unrelated matter, the board approved plans that will allow renovations to begin this summer at McMurray Elementary School.

Plans for the $5.9 million project include upgrades to the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning and electrical systems. New windows, gutters and downspouts will be installed. All of the classrooms will be painted and get new flooring.

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