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Schools

Update: Pending Average School Tax Hike Now $43

Future of full-day kindergarten pilot program still undecided

After about two weeks of digesting the proposed state budget and with a few weeks left to tweak its own, the says a planned average tax increase of about $40 will rise to about $43.

The updated 2011-2012 spending plan of $118.9 million includes about $304,000 less in tax revenue from , but that's a subject some district officials tried to avoid Wednesday night.

Business director Jack Myers focused on about $3 million in lost state aid and about $2 million in lost federal stimulus money in his most recent presentation. He repeated that Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget eliminates partial reimbursement for charter school tuition, totaling $1.1 million, while cutting $500,000 for employee Social Security.

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On top of the lost aid, he said, the district is looking at $5.3 million in increased expenditures. That now includes $1.6 million for the Public School Employees Retirement System and $1 million in medical insurance and federal payroll costs.

Myers said the district in the last few weeks cut about $600,000 in planned spending and wants to trim $800,000 more before the board is scheduled to adopt the proposed final budget April 27

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One decision that still needs to be made, Superintendent Bill Gretzula said, is whether the district can continue it full-day kindergarten pilot program in the face of state cuts. He also said staff and the board will be discussing any impact on class size.

The latest preliminary budget would raise the school tax rate by 1.95 mills to 141.4. Myers said it would raise the tax bill of a township resident assessed at the median value of $22,000 by $42.96.

That amount is significantly lower than the estimates he provided for the following three years: $66.50, $135.50 and about $118. The highest figure, he said, represents a spike in debt service payments related to continued renovations planned for Bensalem High School.

Myers did not mention last week's decision on the tax appeal of Parx Casino. The Bucks County Board of Assessment Appeals reduced the assessment from $42.7 million to $40.5 million, which would cost the district $303,972.

When a resident asked about that, board attorney Thomas Profy III said the district plans to continue being as “aggressive as it can be.” The court decision may be appealed by the casino.

After the meeting, Myers said his latest figures include the loss related to the recent Parx decision.

In February, the board adopted a preliminary spending plan of $120.1 million, a 5 percent increase over last fiscal year. There will be a public question-and-answer session May 25 before a planned final budget adoption June 8.

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