May 27, 2016 2 min read

WAYNESBURG – Central Greene School District’s budget and finance committee agreed Thursday to recommend raising taxes while cutting $1.4 million out of the tentative 2016-17 budget.

The decision is a precaution in case the district does not receive any of the $3.4 million in 2015 property taxes owed to them from Alpha Natural Resources, which declared bankruptcy in 2015.

“Things are not good, and this is what we’re faced with,” board President Andrew Corfont said.

The committee is recommending increasing the property tax rate by 1.2885 mills, raising the overall millage rate to 27.3929.

The school board now must approve the preliminary budget at a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The budget will then be advertised for public review for 30 days before final approval at the end of June.

The tax increase is expected to bring in about $760,000 for the district, and will cost the owner of a home assessed at $50,000 an additional $64 in school property taxes annually, according to district business manager Jim Shargots.

Shargots said if the district does not receive the money from Alpha, but increases the levy and makes the $1.4 million in cuts, “we should still be in the positive by the end of the 2016-17 school year.” He said the projected fund balance for the 2015-16 school year is about $2.35 million.

Board member Kevin Barnhart said he doesn’t think the district should dip into its fund balance to offset Alpha’s unpaid taxes.

“I don’t know how we could spend $3 million out of the fund balance,” he said. “That’s just gushing money.”

Superintendent Brian Uplinger shared with the committee a list of possible cuts that could be made, including eliminating six teaching positions, eliminating all assistant coaching positions for middle and high school sports and eliminating three full-time, evening janitor positions. Other cuts could include delaying equipment upgrades and other miscellaneous expenses.

“This has to be a team effort,” Corfont said. “Everybody might not agree with it, but it’s reality.”

Uplinger shared his list of possible cuts with some members of the audience, but declined to give a copy to a reporter who attended the meeting.

The committee also briefly discussed possible changes in the 2017-18 school year, such as consolidating campuses by moving the administrators and the middle school students to the main campus.