School Board Adopts 2012-13 Preliminary Budget

NEWTOWN SQUARE–At a meeting on Tuesday night, school officials unanimously adopted the $69 million 2012-13 preliminary budget with a 2.67 percent tax increase. School Board member Fred Dewey was absent from the meeting.

The motion to adopt the preliminary budget was read as:

To adopt the 2012-2013 Preliminary Budget Proposal for the amount of $69,000,000.00, as presented on PEDE 2028, Pursuant to Act 1 of 2006. The Board authorizes and directs the Administration to pursue any referendum exceptions available under Act 1.

According to school district Business Administrator Joe Driscoll, the board may not go above the 2.67 percent tax increase as voted on Tuesday night but may go below that percentage. 

Pennsylvania's Act 1 Index caps the tax increase at 1.7 percent, which translates to about $525,000 that the board will have to cut in the budget to bring down the 2.67 percent increase to the Act 1 cap.

One of the exceptions that the board should consider applying for is the  retirement exception, which is approximately $562,000, according to Driscoll.

"Any other exceptions that may be available to us aren't of any use anyway," explained Driscoll. "Because you can't increase taxes over the amount in here. So even if you apply for anything more than that–special education or grandfather debt, which we can no longer use since we used that last year–you wouldn't be able to use them anyway. You'll be applying for them just to apply for them."

School Board member Richard Sokorai made a motion to amend the original motion with the last clause of "to pursue any referendum exceptions available" to "to pursue the retirement exception under Act 1."

The amended motion also unanimously passed 8-0.