New Hope-Solebury directors vow to cut more from school budget before June

Spending plan at $33.3 million now

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   The New Hope-Solebury School District Board of Directors approved a preliminary budget that will cost the average taxpayer 7.2 percent more than last year, but officials promised to trim costs even more before the final budget vote in June.
   The board voted 7-2 to introduce the $33.3 million spending plan.
   Laurence Fieber and David Dozbaba cast the no votes.
   ”I don’t think it went far enough to cut out things that are extraneous,” Mr. Fieber said later.
   Mr. Fieber, an educator with 36 years of experience, said his vote was a “symbolic statement” in these tough economic times.
   ”I want the school district to adopt the idea we’ve got to tighten this up,” he said. “I feel very strongly we have to reflect the times.”
   The preliminary budget does not go far enough to reduce costs, he said. Plus, it sends “a very troubling message to people. People are scared to death. They’re losing their homes. They have big mortgages. Their kids are going to college.”
   If the preliminary budget passes with no changes, it would mean a $314 increase in property taxes for the average homeowner, according to the district.
   The tax levy would be $23,667,132.
   The proposed budget represents an increase of $1,054,149 over the 2008-2009 school year.
   Revenues include an earned income tax total of $3,200,000. The real estate transfer tax would be $1,100,000.
   The preliminary spending plan would take $371,080 from the district’s $2,703,060 fund balance.
   Currently, the tax rate is 76.7 mills. The preliminary budget calls for an increase of 5.53 mills. Each mill represents $305,000.
   Only 4 percent of the budget is discretionary spending.
   The district must meet contractual salary obligations and rising health care costs and utility bills.
   Salaries and wages account for $15,183,911.
   The district added no new positions to the roster next year.
   On Monday, board President Rebecca Malamis reiterated the board’s commitment to keeping costs down and slashing even more from the preliminary budget.
   ”The preliminary budget approved by our board last Wednesday was exactly that — a preliminary budget. The final budget will not be approved until June. Between now and June, our board will be thoroughly examining every line of the budget and will be making every feasible cut that we can. In board deliberation at last Wednesday’s meeting, it was clear that not a single board member believes that a 7.2 percent tax increase is acceptable for the final budget, and I know that every member of the board recognizes and acknowledges that we must do better during these hard economic times to reduce the budget further,” she said.
   ”Please recognize that in Pennsylvania, our administrators begin working on next year’s budget (the 2009-2010 school year budget) when school begins in September. It is very hard to predict needs for the next school year, when school is just beginning for this school year. The first draft of the budget last fall resulted in an initial 14.75 percent increase. The administrative team recognized that such an increase was not acceptable, and since September, under the direction of our superintendent and our Finance Committee, the team has been diligently working to reduce that rate. The budget increase we were presented with last Wednesday had been reduced almost by half, to 7.2 percent. And, since our meeting last week, it has been reduced even further to 6.58 percent. By June, it will be even less than that,” Ms. Malamis noted.
   The increase is mainly attributable to a loss of revenue from real estate taxes and real estate transfer taxes, she said.
   By going from 7.2 percent, the average tax increase of $314 dropped to $270.
   Previous cost-cutting measures included elimination of late bus runs for middle and high school students, the cutting of $271,000 in capital improvements, and the refinancing of debt service for a $500,000 savings.
   Also, Superintendent Raymond Boccuti has ordered a freeze on spending this year.