The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
School district feels budget squeeze
State education cuts prompt proposed 8.75 percent tax increase in Phoenixville Area
Saturday, March 12, 2011
By Phil Ellingsworth Jr., Special to the Local News
PHOENIXVILLE — Reeling from Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed cuts to public education, Phoenixville Area School District released a preliminary budget Thursday night, showing it will need to raise taxes 8.75 percent to close a deficit left by the planned reduction in aid.
During a presentation to school board members, Superintendent Alan D. Fegley said the governor's proposed budget means the district will need to raise taxes 4.32 percent in addition to the 4.43 percent presented in January's initial $78.3 million preliminary budget.
"This is a huge budget gap we have to fill," Fegley said. "We're taking a huge hit here."
In Corbett's numbers for Phoenixville, the district will see $2.3 million slashed from its budget, including $430,851 for basic education, $110,180 for grants, $1.2 million for charter schools and funding in other areas, Fegley said.
The state has not given any indication it will raise the Act 1 index to help districts struggling to balance their books, he said.
This funding situation is proving to be dire for those already working for Phoenixville, as Fegley said a worst-case scenario could mean that 30 jobs "minimum" could be lost because of the budget crisis.
To get back to the 4.43 percent tax increase presented to the school board, the district will need to eliminate $2.3 million from its budget and continue working the numbers from there, he said.
District officials will create a strategy for how it can solve the budget problem, with solutions such as no salary increases, reducing building budgets and no new district hiring, he said.
Insight from the public will also help the district and the school board make decisions during the budget process.
Fegley urged residents to attend the board's budget hearings and offer suggestions on what can be done to close the gap.
"These are going to be important budget hearings," Fegley said.
School board President Paul Slaninka called the funding cuts "massive," saying Corbett's proposed education reductions hurts Phoenixville Area and other districts across the state.
"This is catastrophic as far as I'm concerned," Slanika said. "This will hurt our district and everyone else's."
URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/03/12/news/srv0000011137243.prt
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