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NOTICE
In compliance with Section 687 PA Public School Code of 1949, the Morrisville School District Board of School Directors will hold a Special Board Meeting at 7:30 pm on January 4, 2012 in the LGI Room of the Intermediate/Senior High School, 550 W. Palmer Street, Morrisville, PA. The purpose of the meeting is the 2012-13 Budget and such other lawful matters as may come before the Board.
Wanda Kartal
School Board Secretary
10 comments:
I'm guessing the Special Meeting is about this.
School budget process on accelerated timeline
By Joan Hellyer Staff Writer Calkins Media, Inc.
Area school boards have a taxing decision to make by Jan. 5.
The school directors have to decide if they want to limit their ability to raise property taxes for 2012-13 or if they want to try to go beyond what the state will allow.
Act 1, the state’s property tax relief law, includes an index rate that boards have to adhere to each year when they consider a tax increase. The index rate limits how much a district’s millage rate can be increased.
It is determined for each district by averaging the statewide average weekly wage with employment cost index data, according to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The 2012-13 index rate is 1.7 percent for most area districts, according to the state education department. The two local exceptions are Bristol, which will have an index rate of 2.2 percent, and Bristol Township, which will have a 2.1 percent index rate.
The timeline for the index rate decision is based on the state’s annual primary in the spring. In previous years, school boards had until the end of January to make a decision. But in 2012, the Act 1 timeline is moved up almost a month because the primary, which is generally held in May, will be staged in April during the presidential election year.
A school board has to decide if it needs to hold a referendum during the primary to ask voters for permission to exceed the index rate. Boards have rarely exercised that option since Act 1 went into effect in 2006.
Their other options are to seek state exceptions for various costs that cannot be controlled, including special education expenses, or simply declare that they will keep their district’s tax increase below their respective index rate.
That’s what the Pennsbury school board did in a split vote on Dec. 15.
The board’s new majority of President Allan Weisel, Vice President Simon Campbell, Chris Cridge, Steve Kosmorsky and Kathleen Zawacki voted to limit any tax increase to 1.7 percent of the district’s current millage rate of 150.3 mills.
At the full rate, the millage would equate to an increase of about 2.5 mills. That would give the district just more than $2 million of additional revenue from the current budget of just below $173 million, according to district officials.
Board members Howard Goldberg, John Palmer, Jacqueline Redner and Gary Sanderson voted against keeping to the index rate. They said the index prevents the district from any options to pursue should it need additional revenue to cover expenses.
Keeping their options open is why the school boards in the Bensalem, Centennial, Council Rock and Neshaminy school districts have decided against declaring that they will keep any tax increase below the 1.7 index rate. As per Act 1, the four districts are now developing preliminary budgets that could include potential exceptions in their calculations.
For instance, Council Rock’s board will seek an exception for its payment to the Public School Employee Retirement Fund, according to district Superintendent Mark Klein. The exception could provide the district with an extra $1.7 million in revenue to cover its 2012-13 expenses, he said.
Those preliminary budgets will be made available to the public for review in early January. The boards will have to approve the preliminary budgets by the end of the month.
The Bristol, Bristol Township and Morrisville boards haven’t indicated how they plan to handle their respective budget process for the next school year.
School boards have until June 30 to adopt their district’s final budget for the 2012-13 school year.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Hey Jon didn't you get kicked out of a board mtg once for thanking a board member for not lying again about this deadline???
Yeah, but that was so 2009.
http://www.mv.org/videos.cfm?vid=8892
Link to 1/4/12 Board meeting video re: 2012-2013 budget
Wanda, thanks for posting. I wanted to go to the actual meeting, but got held up at work.
I skimmed through the video. My overall impression was that the meetings continue to be better in tone, back & forth constructive dialogue, and candor.
I figured the vote would be in favor of a resolution to limit property tax increases to below the 1.7% Act 1 index, with a goal of zero increase.
53:30 of the video.
What is Ron Stout talking about Re: the zoo?
Did you have to be there or did it make no sense if you were there either?
Mr. Stout is referring to the possible use of the kazoo as a musical instruction device for elementary students. I think he should get an award for thinking "outside of the box". His ideas are inspirational. His expertise in engineering, parking lot design, and music curriculum is amazing.
Q: What do Ron Stout and a kazoo have in common?
A: They both involve blowing.
The Stout Kazoo Band is available for weddings and bar mitzvahs.
Q: What do Ron Stout and a kazoo have in common?
A: They both have a buzzing in their empty spaces
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