Bristol Twp: No to Tech School Budget

From the BCCT.

School board rejects budget
By: JOAN HELLYER
Bucks County Courier Times

About one-third of students attending the technical training school come from Bristol Township.

The Bristol Township school board has rejected Bucks County Technical High School's proposed $22.4 million budget for 2009-10 to protest the added costs the district will be charged in the coming school year.

The township's share is scheduled to go up 15 percent over 2008-09 figures while overall costs at the comprehensive technical high school will increase 2.9 percent from the current year, officials said.

According to the tech school's funding formula, Bristol Township's added cost share is needed to cover increased enrollments from that district in recent years, officials said. Bristol Township sends about one third of the 1,500 students enrolled in the tech school, which also serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts.

"I don't think there's a single member on this board that is at all against the tech school," Bristol Township school board President W. Earl Bruck said Monday night after board voted 0-8-1 to reject the 2009-10 proposed budget. Board members would like to see Bristol Township's increase closer to the 2.9 percent figure.

Bruck, who voted no, said he realizes that despite the vote, enough of the other governing bodies from the sending districts will approve and enact the budget.

To make that happen, at least four boards from the sending districts and at least 28 board members of the governing bodies have to approve the proposed budget.

As of today, the Bristol and Morrisville boards have approved the tech school financial plan and 17 members of those two governing bodies have voted in favor of it.

Pennsbury's board is set to vote on it tonight. The Neshaminy and Bensalem boards are scheduled next week to vote on the proposed tech school budget.

Bensalem and Bristol also will pay more next year while Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury will pay less than in 2008-09, according to the funding formula, tech school officials said.

Local school districts cover the bulk of the operating budget for the school on Wistar Road in Bristol Township. State and federal funds and other sources make up the difference in the $22.4 budget.

Sharing the costs

Below is the proposed payment schedule per sending school district to balance the budget for the Bucks County Technical High School in the 2009-10 school year.

Bensalem $3,135,268 ($2,998,665 for 2008-9)
Bristol $733,313 ($691,360)
Bristol Township $6,503,272 ($5,646,491
Morrisville $528,077 ($607,612)
Neshaminy $3,921,993 ($4,048,804)
Pennsbury $3,643,532 ($3,950,799)