Budget Watch

Remember all those green lawn signs proclaiming "No Taxation Without Representation?" (I never understood them anyway because they were represented, but thats another topic.) Well, Taxation WITH Representation Day is January 3, 2008. President Bill Hellman, CPA, will bring his budgetary skills to the fore and single-handedly save the district. (That's the only way he apparently works. He doesn't need input from anyone else, especially someone who might oppose him. If this is incorrect, drop me a line.)

I have no doubt that Bill Hellman, CPA, WILL find items to cut. There are always economies to be enjoyed and priorities to be changed when a new set of eyes examines everything. These are the easy changes. We talked about this already.

Then come the HARD changes. Does anyone see the word "energy" or "oil" in the story below? Nope...not one peep about the higher energy costs just to buy the fuel oil to keep the aged boilers slightly tepid, or the ancient single pane window glass that bleeds heat as if the windows were not even there. What about the other repairs that you have not yet even considered, like a gas line repair at the high school or a water main break at Grandview? Just how much will you spend on the schools for repairs and renovations? You can send those major expenses over to the capital budget, but what about the everyday expenses that the day-to-day budget barely covers?

Then there's the 6.7% increase that is "too much." What is the inflation rate? Glad you asked. Using this online calculator, the rate of inflation from January to November 2007 was 3.83% but the current rate itself is 4.31%.

Don't forget to check in with the Budget Work Session where the NSN budgeteers will be making their list and checking it twice on Wednesday, December 19. (Anyone else notice that there are NO 2008 committee or board meetings listed on the district calendar? Dear Secretary-elect Mihok: Please check in with Bill Hellmann, CPA, and post the committee meetings calendar. We do not want this board to unfairly be accused of holding secret meetings, would we? BTW, where are the November meeting minutes?)

The Morrisville school board has vowed to decrease expenditures outlined in the proposed preliminary budget for the 2008-09 school year released last week.

“We're trying to make it more efficient,” said William Hellmann Thursday. He's the new board president and a certified public accountant.

The spending plan of about $21.95 million is still less than expected revenue of roughly $21.99 million.

At Wednesday night's board meeting, Business Administrator Reba Dunford said that projected revenue is up by 9.18 percent from this year. But according to board members, a 6.7 percent foreseeable increase in expenses is too much.

The biggest budget increases from this year are for technology, the superintendent's office, charter schools, alternative schools, and an account for the Delaware Valley Minority Consortium, a professional development program. While the budgets for salaries and benefits increased less significantly, together they make up roughly 50 percent of the overall budget. This is typical for most districts, Dunford said.

The good news is that an anticipated $2 million from state and federal grants will tip the scales on the revenue side. Morrisville expects 16 different grants, including another 21st Century grant, a PA Pre-K grant, and a School Improvement grant. Altogether, they may bring in about 27 percent more money than they did this year.

Costs to run the school board may drop by nearly 19 percent. Some of these costs come from an annual audit, tax collection, insurance, advertising for board meetings, and printing. The decrease is because of fewer legal fees for contract negotiations. Insurance board liability also decreased by about $10,000.

The district expects to collect about $13 million in real estate taxes, up from about $12 million this year.

Hellmann is using Bristol Borough's 2007-08 budget as a comparison to figure out how to lower the budget.

Though that district has at least 200 more students than Morrisville's 1,052, its overall budget this year was about $1 million less than Morrisville's.

“We'll have to go line item by line item with the business manager,” Hellmann said. “But we're limited by contractual obligations and state mandates.”

The budget will be available to the public on the Morrisville school district Web site http://www.mv.org/ on Jan. 3.

After the finance committee meets to discuss cutting expenses Wednesday, the board will vote on the revised preliminary budget at a board meeting on Jan. 23. As most preliminary budgets do, it will likely go through more tweaking until June 30, when the finalized budget must be passed according to the state mandate.

Under state Act 1, a school board can't increase a district's tax millage rate beyond a pre-determined percentage without voter approval during a referendum in the April primary election. Thus, school districts have begun budget discussions to determine whether a referendum will be necessary.

Locally, most districts are limited to a 4.4 percent inflation rate increase, but Bristol can raise its tax rate 5.9 percent and Bristol Township can go up 5.6 percent because those towns are considered slightly less affluent, state officials said.

The referendum would be necessary if districts need more revenue beyond what would be collected by the pre-determined tax rate increase. A district has the potential to avoid going to a referendum if the state approves one or more exemptions it claims in order to raise taxes above the pre-determined rate, officials said. The exemptions cover costs for pre-existing contracts, etc.

Final budgets must be adopted by no later than June 30.

Proposed budget increases next school year
for Morrisville schools

Salaries — At about $8.43 million, they may make up about 38 percent of the budget. The 4.78 percent increase from this year is due to teacher, staff and other employee contracts. “We are tied to what the contract says. It's already cut in stone,” said Business Administrator Reba Dunford.

Benefits — Projected to make up about 11 percent of the budget; benefits may weigh in at $2.5 million.

Charter schools — A rise in charter school enrollment caused a 62 percent increase for related expenses. The cost may be $317,000.

Alternative school — The budget increased 34 percent for needed services, and is at $553,500.

Technology — This year's budget divides many software and technology needs among other categories. But next year's budget lumps all technology needs into one group, effectively making technology expenses look like they'll go up by about 59 percent.

Grandview Elementary School — Its budget may increase by about 15 percent, while both MR Reiter Elementary School and the middle/high school may cost less. That's because Grandview's budget will also cover the Delaware Valley Minority Consortium, a professional development program started by Kathryn Taylor, the principal.

Special education — Expenses are expected to go up nearly six percent, to about $2 million, due to more students using special education services.

Superintendent's office — Expenses may go up nearly 40 percent. The previous school board increased allowances for conferences and travel, and some office equipment is in bad shape and needs to be replaced, said Dunford.

Sorry for the segue, but does anyone else think of this when you say out loud the phrase, "Bill Hellmann, CPA" ?