The Octorara Area School Board will give a special community presentation on the school district's 2011-12 budget at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, in the middle school multipurpose room.
By a 7-2 vote, the school board on Jan. 17 passed a preliminary 2011-12 $47,829,317 budget which is up $1.8 million, or nearly 4 percent, over the current spending plan.
The school district is seeking approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education for an exception to pass a tax increase which is 1.8 percent above the Act 1 index.
However, Superintendent Tom Newcome presented to the crowd on the snowy evening a seven-point menu with $1.5 million in potential cuts.
“These reductions are beyond freezing (salaries),” Newcome told residents who had suggested the district freeze salaries and offer reduced health care benefits to employees. “There are very few things on this page that come without some pain.”
School board members John McCartney Jr. and Robert Hume cast the dissenting votes.
Newcome is recommending: a 10 percent reduction in administrative salary and benefits to save $250,000; a 4 percent reduction in professional teaching staff to save $750,000; a 3.5 percent reduction in support staff costs to save $50,000; and a 3.5 percent reduction in instructional assistant and aide costs to save $40,000.
It is not yet clear whether the board, which is negotiating a new teachers contract, would achieve this reduction through retirements, position or salary cuts.
Also on the list of recommendations are: outsourcing evening custodial staff to save $200,000; reducing costs for career and vocational education by $100,000 by offering some accredited vocational classes at Octorara; and encouraging at least six students to return to Octorara to take cyber classes for a $21,000 savings.
Newcome said the district currently has 33 students in cyber charter schools at a cost of about $8,000 per student. According to Newcome, the district has lost some students to brick and mortar charter schools since Octorara does not offer a full-day kindergarten. Since four new kindergarten teachers would cost the district $240,000, the board has in the past rejected full-day kindergarten. The superintendent said the district plans to contact parents to encourage them to return their students.
Also, Newcome is proposing to reduce the $353,000 athletic budget by an additional $50,000; and cutting building budgets by $70,000. The menu totals $1,531,000.
School board president Lisa Bowman told residents district revenue from real estate taxes and federal, state and local sources is declining.
“If we do nothing, we are in the red,” Bowman said. “It’s cut spending and cut spending deep. That is the story.”
As if one budget at a time is not enough, Business Manager Dan Carsley showed residents a budget planning model which allows multi-year budgeting for the next three to four years.
Parkesburg resident Joe Riley told the board Octorara is “a very good school district but these increases look high to me. People are on strict budgets.”
Board members told residents the budget must be trimmed and adopted by the end of June. If the budget is approved as presented Jan. 17 -- which board members say is unlikely -- Lancaster County residents would see an 8 percent mill increase, to 30.38 mills. Chester County residents would receive a 6.66 percent mill increase, to 37.46 mills.
The Intelligencer Journal is reporting in a page one story on Jan. 25 the Eastern Lancaster County School District will lay off 15 teachers to help fill a $1.3 million 2011-12 budget gap: articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/342145.
Also on Jan. 17, Dr. David Rutledge of the high school counseling department and high school principal Scott Rohrer updated the community on the high school Pathways curriculum program. High school students may take a group of Harrisburg Area Community College courses right on campus taught by Octorara faculty for a modest cost.
Rutledge said students are also in actual co-op work experiences at local companies including Dutchland, Inc. in Christiana. He said while 100 students are currently enrolled at the Technical College High School, the newly renovated high school and caliber of Octorara’s staff will soon allow the district to offer many of these programs on campus, and save outside tuition costs.
“There have been drastic changes at the high school and a very positive spirit,“ said Rohrer, commenting on the renovations. “Our students want more positive and deserve to see more positive.“
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