Tax hike won’t clear MV red ink

BY STACI WILSON

After furloughing 10 teachers and one administrator plus a proposed tax hike, Mountain View School District is still in the red for the upcoming school year.

District business manager James Mirabelli told board members at a workshop meeting help Monday night a $1.1 million deficit is projected for the 2011-12 school year.

He is also forecasting a hike in taxes from 33.7 mills to 34.3 mills – just below the maximum allowed by law.

Some additional budget trimming is expected to take place at the board’s business meeting, Monday, May 16, when the district is expected to adopt its preliminary budget.

Right now the proposed budget revenues are at $15, 736,000 with expenses at $16,871,000. A $100,000 surplus from savings achieved during the current year helps shave off some of the projected deficit.

The proposed cuts in state aid are just one factor contributing to the district’s deficit, Mirabelli said. He noted earned income tax revenue was slow to come in due to the economic downturn and real estate transfer taxes are also down as people are holding onto their land.

Salaries and benefits for the professional staff comprise 69 percent of the district budget; health benefits increased over 13 percent; unemployment is up due to furloughs to $330,000; and the retirement contribution rate increases three percent.

Although the elementary and high school has cut expenses in the past few years, Mirabelli said the district budget is harder to pare down.

“Charter school enrollment is exploding,” Mirabelli said. Currently, 56 Mountain View district students are enrolled in a charter or cyber-charter school. “We hit an all-time high,” he said. In the current year, the district has paid out nearly $500,000 to cover the students’ charter and cyber-charter tuitions.

Currently, the governor’s proposed state budget eliminates all reimbursement districts were receiving for charter school students.

Mirabelli said the district pays out about $8,000 for general education students and $10,000 for special education students to attend the charter schools. The state had been reimbursing districts 30 percent of the cost.

An audience member asked if the district was reaching out to the parents of those students. “What can we do to get those kids back to the district,” she asked.

Director of Curriculum Karen Voight said the district has reached out to the parents and would do so again.

Director of Special Services Susan Pipitone said the diploma granted by some charter schools was more like a GED (general equivalency diploma) than a regular high school diploma.

Voight said some contributing factors to students enrolling in charter or cyber-charter schools was school anxiety; problems with peers; intensive sports training. “Parents have that option now,” she said.

Another audience member said some parents choose the option for religious reasons.

Although the proposed state cuts are severe, Mirabelli offered a glimmer of hope to the board. He reported the state budget is currently being debated in Harrisburg and there is some talk of restoring basic education funding at the 2008-09 level instead of the 2006 level proposed by the governor.

He also said there is talk at the state level of partially restoring the block grant used to fund a portion of kindergarten programs.

But Mirabelli said the deficit remains and several more decisions by the board need to be made.