Budget Process

Hi folks, I wanted to discuss the Budget process which will dominate your local paper for next two months.

Depending on your Act 1 status (legislation passed 3 years ago to offer property tax reduction) your District has to pass a preliminary Budget in either January or May.

Contrary to what some people think, 80-85 % of the budget has fixed costs such as labor contracts, health benefits and transportation. This leaves very little wiggle room to actually trim expenses.

In Washington County where there is a wide difference in the property values among the various School Districts this becomes a difficult for the School Administration and School Board to present a balanced budget that does not raise taxes.

Also what may make it difficult is adjusting to State and Federal mandates that often are not fully by the governmental bodies passing down these programs.

In order to be effective,(in my opinion) you must have total cooperation at all administrative levels to produce a functional budget. There must be coordination between curriculum needs, projected enrollment and a realistic view of your revenue structure.

Please look at your District's budget over the next few months, it is not as simple as you may think. A lot of work goes into this process in order to meet every one's needs.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.