Spring-Ford District looking at huge deficit - The Daily Local 1/19/2011

The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA


WEB ONLY: Spring-Ford District looking at huge deficit
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
By PHIL ELLINGSWORTH JR.
Special to the Local News

ROYERSFORD - Spring-Ford School District officials have unveiled a proposed preliminary budget showing an uphill climb to chip away at a $10.4 million deficit in its 2011-12 budget.

District Business Manager Timothy C. Anspach said the main expenses the district is facing going into budget season are increases on several fronts, including a $1.4 million in salaries, $3.7 million in benefits, and $1.6 million in other categories.

Spring-Ford recently changed its healthcare plan for employees from a two-tier to a three-tier system with higher co-pays, but cost savings have not been realized yet because it is based on the amount of claims filed. Anspach said a lot of claims are being filed by younger and older teachers.

The district is facing a total $6.1 million in expenses in a time when investments and funds are down, including the ending of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Anspach said.

That loss of revenue and increased expenses has district officials exploring different ways to eliminate the $10.4 million deficit before it is required to submit a final budget to the state by the June 30 deadline.

Anspach said the district is looking at operational costs, personnel, salary and benefits.

Currently, Spring-Ford has not set a tax increase because the district officials have time to balance the budget and work on its deficit before June, Anspach said.

Another problem looming is approximately 30 companies in the district are applying to Montgomery County for property reassessment, something that could potentially affect taxpayers and the district's bottom line, he said.

Assessment appeals could total as much as $4 million, but the district is fighting those requests, so that money is not lost, he said.

Some of the companies appealing their assessments are GlaxoSmithKline, Quest Diagnostics, Spring- Ford Country Club and more.

A PowerPoint presentation Anspach made to the audience and the board outlined different revenue sources and what would happen if they were lost.

One revenue source was property tax assessments, showing if the district lost that money, it could mean a 3.72 percent tax increase in property taxes, according to the presentation.

"Not to say we're going to raise taxes that high," he said.

Anspach said the budget also reflects the fact the district has a lot of unanswered questions about funding sources.

Spring-Ford does not know how much money it will receive from the state at this time, especially since Gov. Tom Corbett was sworn into office Tuesday afternoon.

"We don't know that yet," Anspach said.

The district also does not have budgets from Montgomery County Intermediate Unit and Western Montgomery Career and Technology Center.

"There's many questions we don't have answers to," he said.

Superintendent of Schools Marsha R. Hurda said there are costs the district has no control over like salary and benefits, also in a time when there are decreases in revenue and companies going for reassessment mixed in.

"Our expenses continue to grow," Hurda said.

Hurda reaffirmed Anspach's statements, saying the budget that was presented to the board is just a projection, and the final budget will not need to be approved until June.

In other board news, members voted 8-0 to publicly advertise the budget for 20 days. Board member David R. Shafer was absent from the voting.

The board will vote on the proposed preliminary budget at its Feb. 14 board meeting.

All Pennsylvania districts are required to submit a preliminary proposed budget to the state by Feb. 16.

URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/01/19/news/doc4d379fd6c1463152822014.prt

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