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Schools

School Board OKs Preliminary Budget

Average $40 tax hike heavily dependent on appealed Parx Casino assessment.

The Bensalem school board, as expected, adopted a preliminary 2011-2012 budget of $120.1 million Wednesday.

The spending plan, slightly revised since first publicly discussed Jan. 12, would raise the tax bill of a township resident assessed at the median value of $22,000 by $39.70.

Board president Heather Nicholas repeated that the district had originally expected to have to raise the average tax bill by $120.

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“When this came in, I was kind of happy,” she said.

Jack Myers, the district's director of business operations, previously explained that a main reason for the lower pending tax increase is a recent reassessment of the Parx Casino property, which would bring the district $4 million a year. That assessment has been appealed by Parx and while district officials are counting on that amount for the next school year, there's no guarantee they will get it.

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The tax appeal means that $10 million in district revenue is at stake over a two-and-half-year period, Myers explained after the meeting.

Myers, who gave a presentation of the preliminary budget Monday before the board approved it, stressed there are many financial factors that can not be controlled by the district.

He said they include more than $5 million in increased expenditures including $1.6 million for pensions, $1.4 million in Intermediate Unit and special education costs, and $1 million in medical and federal insurance. Also out of the district's control, he said, are revenue reductions of about $3.4 million including $2.3 million in federal stimulus funding.

The preliminary budget represents a 5 percent increase over the 2010-2011 approved budget of about $114.5 million. It reflects revenues of $116.9 million and expenditures of close to $119 million, with the difference being addressed by the draw down of about $2 million from the district's fund balance.

After the meeting, Myers said that would leave a little less than $3 million in the fund balance. But he added that the district has about $20 million in other reserves.

During the meeting, board member Wayne Lewis lauded the district's fund balance planning over the last eight or nine years. And his colleague Chester Douglas told those in attendance that the lack of public questions from the board before its vote did not mean it is rubber-stamping the budget.

“There has been continuous review, committee meetings and we have confidence in Mr. Myers,” he said.

If approved as is, the budget would lift the millage rate 1.8 mills to 141.28.

The board has scheduled public work sessions on the budget, Feb. 23 and March 23 before its scheduled adoption of the proposed final budget April 27. Then there will be a public question-and-answer session May 25 before a planned final budget adoption June 8.

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