Aug
7
August 2009 – Budget
August 7, 2009 | | Leave a Comment
For the past several months, the district has operated without a state approved budget. The revenue sources received from the state have yet to be received by the district. If the funding comes in below the proposed index that was utilized by the district, there could be potential program cuts and adjustments to the budget.
In looking at the figure that was utilized by the district, the following concepts were used: First, the district looked at the Governor’s proposed percentage that was provided to districts across the Commonwealth in February, and then at the new number that was provided in March. Not using these numbers alone, the district looked at a five year average of potential rates that were received for the district budget in the previous five years. Looking at the five year average along with the proposed 2009-10 figures released by the Governor, the number 6.1% was identified by the district to develop the budget.
Once this budget was developed, it was proposed to the school board Finance Committee. Six different budget presentations were conducted during board meetings from the month of January to May. Prior to the final approval of the budget at the May board meeting, the index that the district was allowed to go to under Act 1 was 5.9%. Under the direction of the school board, the district actually decided by go below the index to 5.1%.
If the state budget were to come back below the percentages that the district utilized, the budget would be reopen to determine program cuts or reallocating the assets that the district would receive.
The district and school board closely scrutinize the budget on an annual basis to make the appropriate determination for programs as well as staffing issues. The district has utilized a five year budget model that was developed by a Dr. William Hartman from Penn State University. The budget model has allowed the district to look at a variety of funding scenarios looking at previous data as well as future data and the potential impact on the budget. The model has been utilized for board budget retreats to allow for a better understanding of the financial picture that the district operates within.
