The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
School district bracing for 'worst case'
West Chester Area officials wrestling with $3.4 million budget shortfall
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
By SARA MOSQUEDA-FERNANDEZ, Staff Writer
WEST GOSHEN — West Chester Area School Board's property and finance committee Monday night presented a long list of budget reductions to close an anticipated $3.4 million budget gap.
"We can prepare for the worst and hope for the best," said board member James B. Davidson. "But we've got to prepare for the worst."
With Corbett's proposed budget looking to cut funding for extended-day kindergarten, charter schools, special education and Social Security reimbursements for school employees, the committee acknowledged that "everything's on the table" to try to save these programs.
The school board plans to decide to make cuts in three phases, combining factors that include 60 retired teachers, a districtwide salary freeze, permanent staff and administration reductions, increasing student parking fees from $50 to $70, and many more cost-reducing steps.
Three words repeated at Monday's meeting and in budget planning materials were reorganization, reduction and removal.
"In planning for a difficult budget, we had already anticipated a reduction in state funding," said district Superintendent James R. Scanlon. "But we didn't expect (this)."
According to Scanlon, prior to the announcement of the governor's budget proposal earlier this month, the district was expecting a reduction of $1.1 million.
While raising taxes is an option that will aid the district in bridging the large budget gap, Scanlon recognized that property taxes would only go so far.
"The only way to account for the additional $3.4 million will be to find other revenues or reduce expenses," he said.
Corbett said his budget is structured with four main intents: "fiscal discipline, limited government, free enterprise, and reform." For kindergarten to high school instruction, it proposes a $550 million (or 10 percent) reduction. Also, all grants earmarked for school districts to use for learning and class-size reduction, a total of $260 million, will be eliminated.
"This budget sorts the must-haves from the nice-to-haves," said Corbett.
The fiscal year for the district ends June 30, and the state Legislature must reach a decision on the budget by that same day.
Jeffery T. Seagraves expressed concern over the board having to commit to a budget maybe a month before knowing if such drastic cuts would truly have to be made.
The school board plans to be collaborating with its community budget task force to seek other methods to reduce the budget by its self-imposed May or June deadline.
To contact staff writer Sara Mosqueda-Fernandez, send an e-mail to smfernandez@dailylocal.com.
http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/03/22/news/srv0000011221323.prt
© 2011 dailylocal.com, a Journal Register Property
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