2010-2011 Budget
The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District is currently developing the 2010-2011
budget.
The 2010-2011 budget will be discussed at the Finance Committee meeting
on March 8, 2010 at 7:30 pm at Conestoga High School. There will
also be a budget workshop on March 15, 2010 at 7:30 pm at Conestoga High
School.
 March
8, 2010 Finance Committee Meeting Materials - Proposed Budget Strategies
- Paper copies will be available at the March 8,
2010 Finance Committee meeting, 7:30 p.m. in the Conestoga High School
Auditorium.
Budget
Update - Winter 2010
February 8, 2010 Budget Update
- On
February 8, 2010, the T/E School Board Finance Committee met to discuss
proposed strategies to close the 2010-2011 budget gap. Projections for
2010-2011 show an expected gap between revenues and expenditures of $9.25
million. The gap resulted from a loss of revenue and an increase in expenditures.
The proposed strategies include actions to reduce expenditures, increase
revenues and use existing reserves to close the budget gap. The School
Board and administration are continuing to evaluate the impact of each
proposed budget strategy on the District. Click
to read the full press release.
Budget Segment Video from Winter
2010 T/E Board Talk Program
Budget Update from
January 25, 2010 Regular School Board Meeting - At
its regular meeting on January 25, 2010, the School Board voted 9-0 in
favor of a resolution that caps the potential tax increase at 2.9 percent
for the budget year 2010-2011. A list of proposed budget balancing strategies
will be presented at the February 8, 2010 Finance Committee meeting. Click
to read the full press release.
Budget Update from January 4, 2010
Finance Committee Meeting
Budget Update - November 2009
Click here for the January School
Board Committee summaries. Scroll to the Finance Committee summary for
budget development information.
For more information on the development of the budget:
If you have questions about the budget, please contact Arthur
J. McDonnell, Business Manager, at the TEAO, 940 West Valley Road,
Suite 1700, Wayne, PA 19087, or (610) 240-1801.
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2009-2010
Budget Summary
Approved June 15, 2009
Budget Development
Major Budgetary Components
Summary
BUDGET DEVELOPMENT
In
developing and presenting the annual budget to the Board and community,
our goal is to present the budget in easily understood terms and in a
comprehensive, informative and transparent manner. To that end, in recent
years the Board and administration have used a consistent method for developing,
analyzing, and presenting budget information. The budget discussions
were supported by PowerPoint presentations and were recorded and broadcast
to the community. The proposed final budget was made available for public
inspection at the District Administration offices. The Final Proposed
budget was advertised prior to its adoption at the June 15, 2009 regular
meeting of the Board.
The
Board considered the administrative recommendation of presenting a balanced
budget through a reduction in budget requests or percentage change, a
tax rate increase below the Act 1 index and the use of existing reserves.
As part of the budget presentations, the administration requested a total
authorized spending amount of $110,424,721 which includes $457,093 in
federal funds that PDE requires flow through the budget. Through historical
analysis of the percentages of authorized spending, an anticipated spending
amount of $106,875,721 was also presented. If necessary the difference
between the anticipated expenditures and authorized expenditures of $3,549,000
will be funded from District reserves.
The
funding of anticipated expenditures will come from revenue projected totaling
$101,400,171 and use of existing reserves of $5,475,550. This amount from
existing reserves will be used for the current year debt service and retirement
of the 2004 bond issue. This retirement of debt in the 2009-2010
budget year will allow the District to avoid the impact of future principal
and interest payments in excess of $3.7 million on future budgets on the
2004 Bond. The state subsidy revenue will increase by the state
minimum of 2%. The Act 1 gaming revenue of almost $2.1 million received
from the state, or approximately $179 per approved homestead, will be
reflected in state revenue with an equal dollar amount removed from local
tax revenue in accordance with the law. A proposed increase in property
tax millage of .50 or 2.95% would generate additional property tax revenue
in the amount of $2,290,336 using the budgeted collection rate of 97.24%.
This translates to an annual increase of $126 on a T/E home at the
average assessed value of $252,734. The total tax rate for 2009-2010 will
be 17.47 mills.
The
2009-2010 anticipated spending amount of $101,400,171 reflects an increase
of 4.1% over the 2008-2009 projected actual expenditures of $97.4 million.
The 2009-2010 anticipated spending reflects a 0.4% increase over the 2008-2009
budget of $101,028,618.
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MAJOR BUDGETARY COMPONENTS
Over
the past 9 months, the administration has systematically reviewed and
analyzed various iterations of the proposed budget for 2009-2010.
The following points reflect the results of this analysis and summarize
the major components of the budget.
Enrollments
According
to projections by the Pennsylvania Economy League (PEL) for 2009-2010,
enrollments will decrease from 6,159 in school year 2008-2009 to 6,125
in 2009-2010, a decrease of 34 students in the student population. The
elementary schools are projected to have a decrease of 54 students,
a decline of 2.5%. The middle schools are projected to have 39 more
students, an increase of 2.0%. The high school is projected to have
14 fewer students, a decline of 1%. These figures are based on
enrollment data and the revised analysis prepared by the PEL in November
2008.
Instructional
Staffing
Projected
2009-2010 class sizes have been reviewed at all levels. PEL projections
for 2009-2010 and actual class sizes K-12 have been studied carefully.
The District and building administrators have reviewed actual and projected
enrollments by school and grade level and prepared staffing need projections
for the coming year. This years staffing needs are based upon actual enrollment
as of May 19, 2009.
The
2009-2010 budget provides for 486 instructional staff positions. The 2008-2009
budget included 500 positions. In addition to the 486 authorized
positions in the operating budget there are 10 positions in the contingency
budget. The current application of the class size policy remains in place.
Non-Instructional Staffing
Supervisor/Confidential
Employee Group
The
Supervisor/Confidential Employee Group is comprised of first and second
level supervisors in the area of support services, as well as information
technology employees and confidential secretaries. In the 2009-2010 budget
the Supervisor/Confidential Group has been reduced by 1.0 FTE.
Secretarial/Clerical
TE
Non-Instructional Group (TENIG) secretarial staffing for the 2009-2010
school year has been reduced by 1.24 FTE for the 2008-2009 budget to 52.56
FTE.
Maintenance/Custodial/Transportation
The maintenance
staff has been decreased by 1.0 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) in the 2009-2010
school year. Custodial staffing has been reduced by 1.0 FTE from the 2008-2009
budget.
All
bussing needs have been shifted to a contractor. This represents a reduction
of 1.69 FTE in District transportation staffing.
Food
Service
An increase
in the number of lunches being purchased daily results in an increase
of .22 FTE in the cafeteria staffing. The food service program remains
self-sufficient and operates without the need for a general fund contribution
for 2009-2010.
Special
Education Non-instructional Support
The 2009-2010 budget
reflects reclassified FTE’s for Special Education paraeducators and support
staff based upon anticipated student needs. Special Education support
staff in 2008-2009 was 79.49 FTE and will be increased to 80.30 in 2009-2010.
Paraprofessional
and Aide Support (Non Special Education)
The FTE paraprofessionals (non-special
education) in the 2009-2010 proposed budget remained constant. Non-special
education aides requested in the proposed budget is a decrease of .34
FTE from 2008-2009. These aides serve in clerical, instructional and
library functions.
Salaries
Salary treatments
are provided through existing contractual agreements and rates approved
by the Board of School Directors.
Benefits
As with salary
accounts, the Personnel Director, together with administrators, completed
a person-by-person projection of benefit costs. Increases in medical
insurance costs are 11.68% for the 2009-2010 school year. The budget
also reflects an increase of 14.44% for prescription insurance.
The Public School Employee Retirement rate for 2009-20010 is a 4.78%
increase.
Non-Salary Items
(300-700 accounts)
The
major increases in the 300-700 accounts occur in the following areas:
Special Education services through the Intermediate Unit and contracted
services through private providers, including tuition to both approved
and nontraditional programs, tuition to charter schools, special education
programs/initiatives, extended school year services and specialized intervention
and assessment services; increases in transportation contracts, including
three additional contracted runs and additional special education and
private schools contracts; and supplies and equipment. In addition,
utilities, natural gas, water, sewer and repairs and maintenance for building
costs are included.
Debt Principal
and Interest (800-900 accounts)
Debt service stood
at 6.33% of the 2008-2009 budget and will increase to 8.99% for 2009-2010.
This increase is attributed to the additional principal payment to retire
the 2004 Bond Issue. Total debt service payments in 2009-2010 are $9,930,927.50.
Transportation
The 2009-2010 proposed
budget provides for additional contracted bus routes that may be required
for increased student placements and enrollments.
Food Service Fund
Transfer
The food service
program is self-supporting and no general fund contribution will be made.
EDR
Extra duty stipends
are provided for coaches and sponsors of extra curricular activities. Funds
for these programs totaling $1,095,263.31 have
been included in the 2009-2010 budget.
Supplies/Property/Equipment
The 2009-2010 budget
includes $4,540,989 for supplies and $1,102,849 for equipment. These
budgeted amounts were determined based on a needs assessment.
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SUMMARY
In
summary, this budget will support approved programs and proposed operations
and program enhancements, while maintaining the District’s high-quality
educational program and supporting the District’s Strategic Plan.
The proposed expenditure budget is $110,424,721, which includes $457,093
in federal funds that PDE requires flow through the budget. An increase
in property tax millage of .50 or 2.95% will generate additional property
tax revenue in the amount of $2,290,336 to fund the difference between
anticipated revenues of $99,109,835 and anticipated expenditures of $101,400,171.
This additional millage will mean an annual tax increase of $126 for the
average assessed value of a T/E home of $252,734. The total property
tax rate for 2009-2010 will be 17.47 mills. The difference between the
anticipated expenditures and authorized expenditures of $3,549,000 will
be funded from District reserves if needed, and $5,475,550 to retire the
2004 Bond Issue.
If
you wish to contact the District regarding the budget, please send your
correspondence to: Arthur J. McDonnell, Business Manager/Board Secretary,
940 West Valley Road, Suite 1700, Wayne, PA 19087 or call 610-240-1801.
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