School Budget Passes with Zero Tax Increase

With just a day left to submit the paperwork to the state, the Bensalem school board passed with a 7-2 vote a finalized 2013-2014 budget that contains no property tax increases for township residents.

The $129 million budget has a deficit of approximately $6.8 million, but rather than raising taxes by 1.7 percent with the Act 1 index, the board approved a plan that will use money from the general fund balance to cover the difference.

Board member Matthew Grodsky felt the move not only allows the district to move forward with planning for the next school year, but also sends a message to township residents that things will be different after a scandal damaged the administration's credibility.

"I believe that we as a board did the right thing tonight in holding the line on taxes," said Grodsky in a statement to the press. "After roughly a decade of increases and the betrayal of public trust that was revealed earlier this year it was the right time to use some of those funds to try, in some small measure to make the taxpayers whole."

In February, police arrested 20 people, including some former and current school district employees, on charges of defrauding the district out of $1.5 million by purchasing parts for district vehicles and selling them to third parties and pocketing the cash. Other employees had also been accused of clocking their co-workers in for work so they could earn money while sitting at home.

To date, five of the accused have pled guilty to the various charges, according to phillyburbs.com. They have been ordered to pay restitution to the district and perform community service.

Grodsky said that when the repayments and insurance claims start coming in, the zero-tax increase budget will allow that money to go back the taxpayers that had been wronged. He also pointed out that the district had recorded budget surpluses over the past three years and felt confident that trend would continue.

"There's no 100 percent guarantee," said Grodsky. "From the administration down to the principals and teachers have done a great job of watching how they spend and doing a lot with a little."