CLEARFIELD – Following a nearly hour and a half executive session Monday night, the Clearfield Area School District Board of Directors voted, 8-1, in favor of a tentative budget with a 3-mill tax hike for the 2010-11 academic year.
Board members Dave Glass, Larry Putt, Rick Schickling, Tim Morgan, Jennifer Wallace, Susan Mikesell, Mary Anne Jackson and Dr. Michael Spencer all voted for preliminary approval.
Board member Philip Carr cast the lone nay vote. He was not present for comment after the special board meeting.
Sam Maney, business administrator, said the district’s real estate taxes climbed from 86.84 to 89.84 mills. Despite the 3-mill increase, he said they’re still facing a deficit of $309,926. He noted they’re projecting a “small surplus” of approximately $30,000.
According to a prior GantDaily report, the board held an executive session that spanned more than two hours during its third budget workshop on Wednesday. During private deliberations, they had numerous district administrators come and go from individual meetings with them over “contractual and personnel” issues.
When the regular session reconvened, Glass announced that they were still facing an unbalanced budget with a deficit of $650,000. Board members then mulled a tax increase, which varied in size from 2 to 3 mills.
At that meeting, they appeared to agree with administrators who suggested an initial increase of at least 3 mills.
“I’m comfortable with it, but I’m not happy with it,” Glass said. Putt added no one likes or wants to talk about a tax increase, but it almost seemed a must for them to do so.
Because they didn’t raise real estate taxes this year, Maney suggested they sway toward a 3-mill increase for 2010-11. In recent years, he said they have averaged an increase of 1.5 percent.
In agreement, Superintendent Dr. Richard C. Makin said they should set their initial tax increase at 3 mills. He encouraged board members to give it some more thought over the next week.
“And, we may come back and ask for another quarter or so,” he said. But he said they wouldn’t make any changes to the increase until further discussion of the same.
Maney said the district would receive $350,000 in revenue under a 3-mill increase. In a prior work session, he indicated they could not increase their millage beyond the maximum 3.56 percent, which has been set for them for the upcoming year.
Maney also indicated then that a mill equals approximately $117,000. He said if they raised taxes to the previously stated maximum limit, it would come out in the area of $415,000.
On Monday night, Maney said the tentative general fund budget calls for $33,390,892 in total expenditures. He said local revenue sources were in the amount of $12,472,500; state revenue sources in the amount of $18,735,569; and federal revenue sources in the amount of $1,872,897.
Maney said they’ve anticipated total revenue in the amount of $33,080,966. As of July 1, he said they had a beginning fund balance of $3,431,853, bringing total revenue sources to $36,512,819 for the upcoming year.
Maney said they’ve also proposed the capital reserve fund in the amount of $175,720. He said they estimated an ending balance of $750,483 on June 30. As a result, he said they’ve projected an ending balance of $825,263 for June 30, 2011.
Prior to the closed session, the board was approached by Glenna Woodring and Judi Bookhamer, both of whom teach in the high school’s math department. Both voiced concerns about the possible aftermath if the board elected to cut a faulty member to resolve budget issues.
Woodring said she “felt strongly” for her department and its student performance. She said they have worked alongside Tim Janocko, assistant principal, in order to better the students’ test scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSA).
In the past, Woodring said the students only scored a proficiency level of 33 percent in math on the PSSA. She said they noted the college preparatory students who are exposed to algebra and geometry classes have performed well on the assessment.
“It’s not good. It’s not good enough,” she said. She said the students have more recently achieved a proficiency of 56 percent. However, she noted they must reach 100 percent proficiency in math by 2014.
In addition, she pointed out that the students will soon begin the Keystone Exams. She emphasized these exams will account for one-third of their final course grade. As a result, she said the students will need practice and help from the math faculty.
“We’re the front line,” Woodring said. “. . . If they don’t do well, we take the heat. I realize the concerns with the budget. I really do. (Our) students must come first.
“We have a long way to go over the next few years. We have tutoring in place, but the kids need a full staff. Fifty-six percent is a long ways to 100 percent by 2014.”
Bookhamer said she was proud of the math department’s faculty members. She said they have come far since she joined the staff. She called attention to their department, stating it was among a few that offered statistics courses in Clearfield County.
“Any cuts to the math department could be detrimental. Let us continue to grow,” Bookhamer said. Makin said the board hasn’t decided if any cuts will be made to the math department staff. He said they would announce their decision at next week’s regular meeting.
Glass said he appreciated the dedication of the faculty in the high school’s math department. Following the closed session, he added the board has mulled over budget decisions.
“We’ve taken our time. It’s a tough job. We must decide between educational interests and fiscal responsibility,” Glass said. “We must weigh the sides of both the kids and the taxpayers. None of us take it lightly.”
Maney said the board will make the tentative general fund budget available to the public on May 26. He said it will remain on display for 30 days, before they approve the final budget on June 21.