North Hills Predicts School Revenues Down, Costs Up for 2012-13 Budget

Revenue for the for the 2012-13 year is expected to be down from this year's expected revenues of $66,676,812, while costs are expected to increase, according to Director of Finance and Operations David Hall. 

More specific numbers are expected in December, as the detailed budget is put together. In the meantime, Hall warned school board members Monday that the year ahead would be tight. 

“By far the biggest issue for us is our real estate taxes,” Hall said during a presentation Monday to the school board. 

He said in particular he expects appeals of the property reassessments taking place next year in Allegheny County to impact the school budget negatively with about $1 million in losses. 

Real estate taxes make up between 60 percent and 65 percent of the school's general revenues, he said. 

Property taxes are not the only number-crunching issue at hand. The pension plan paid to retired employees is increasing from 8.65 percent to 12.19 percent, for an additional cost of $1.2 million, he said.

There are also increasing costs with medical insurance, wages, charter schools, and transportation that the district will have to wrangle with, he said. 

The news left school officials with a bleak picture. 

“When it came to financing [2011-12] school year, I thought we basically pulled a rabbit out of a hat,” said board president Edward Wielgus.

To make ends meet for the 2011-12 budget,  They also cut 25 of 29 retiring teacher positions and slashed operating expenses by $815,019.

A , signed this summer, froze salaries for about 120 teachers at the top of the district’s pay scale, and increased the staff's share of health insurance costs. 

“We really didn’t have much in the way of movement when it came to what options we had," Wielgus said. "The options that we had last year and took advantage of do not exist this year.”

Schools across the state are facing similar challenges because of changes in state funding. Gov. Tom Corbett has said public schools should not assume or prepare for funding increases. His stance followed a state-wide funding decrease of $600 million for K-12.

“There are no revenue increases that we can see for the next two or three years that will even cover retirement increases,” Wielgus said. “We are going to be faced with some really serious decisions."

“Everything will be looked at,” he said. “Things that are not mandated will be looked at first, and how much savings there is when it comes to cutting these programs, as we can’t cut mandated programs.”

At the start of the current school year, 

"It's time to circle the wagons. We are all in this together," he said then. Mannarino  after the retirement of Superintendent Joseph Goodnack. 

A dozen school administrators, teachers, parents and representatives of nonprofit groups  

Citizens with concerns about the budget will have a chance to let their voice be heard before it is finalized. The board is planning four meetings between January and May when a more detailed budget is put together for review. 

“We go line through line by the budget, in an incredible amount of detail,” said the school district's spokesman, Tina Vojtko. “Anyone that has issues with our budget, we encourage them to attend. It’s an opportunity for dialogue, and a lot of questions come up.”

If lobbying efforts don't sway state officials to restore state funding for the district, how would you balance the district's budget?

Do you see waste? Do you see areas where spending can be shaved? What would you protect at the expense of other programs if you must?

Tell us in the comments, and share your priorities to help guide the school board. 

 

The original version of the story incorrectly published the amount of losses in revenues that were expected for the 2012-13 year. It was corrected Thursday, Nov. 17.