Dear editor:

I have been quite frustrated recently about what the public HAS BEEN reading and NOT reading ENOUGH in the media about two important public education funding and cost issues that are both essential to the sustainability of our children's public education structure.The first is FICTION regarding the purported "loss" or "decrease" of state funding revenues to districts over recent years. The second is FACT the steeply GROWING PSERS public retirement cost factors facing not only our small district here, but all 500 in the commonwealth.The numbers I provide are specific to the Weatherly district, but I suspect they are proportionately similar for many, if not all other districts across the commonwealth.Weatherly Area School District's approved budget for 2014-15 reflects a total revenue of $11,057,231 and total expenditures of $12,075,222, leaving a deficit of $1,017,991 to be covered from our fund balance.Weatherly had 786 students K-12 in the 1999-00 school year. That student population number has trended downward since (except for 2004-05 with a 15-year high of 805). Research data anticipates future student population declining in the immediate future.As of March 27, we have only 638 students K-12. Based on that number, our current gross expenditure is $18,927 per child much higher than many other districts' per-child expenditures. Our current "collectable" millage rate is approximately $125,500 per mill for budgeting purposes.First, state funding to Weatherly taken from the annual financial reports submitted to PDE are: Total state revenue received was $2,633,888 (42 percent of total revenues) in 1995-96.A small decrease from the state in the years of 1996-97 ($2,555,618 at 38.7 percent of total revenue) and 1997-98 (yet it also increased from prior year at $2,622,371 at 43 percent of total revenue) occurred.Every subsequent year since then the total annual state revenue to Weatherly has INCREASED above the prior year, with only ONE other exception. In 2009-10, the feds gave all districts a large one-time federal subsidy ours was $1,012,427.19 (8.9 percent of our TOTAL revenues that year) under the Obama federal stimulus package.That year's "TOTAL" revenue was $500,000 higher than the prior year and year after! Historically, total federal dollars to us have been less than 4 percent of total annual revenues and declining (most recently only 1.8 percent).By real dollar amounts received, Weatherly has, IN FACT, been enjoying higher state revenues year after year with only the three exceptions listed above!Secondly, the PSERS mandated retirement employer contribution amounts for Weatherly have been and are escalating:In 2009-10 the employer contribution amount (at 4.78 percent of gross wages) was $221,409 which was 1.94 percent of our total revenue that year.Each year the required percent of employer contribution continued to increase. In 2014-15, the employer contribution amount (now mandated at 21.40 percent of gross wages) paid into the PSERS was $997,119 which is 9.02 percent of our total revenue this year. Going forward, the mandated employer contribution rate is set to rise to 25.84 percent for 2015-16, 29.27 percent for 2016-17, 30.25 percent for 2017-18, 31.28 percent for 2018-19, and 32.02 percent for 2019-20.In 2019-20, the mandated employer contribution amount (at 32.02 percent of gross wages) will be $1,491,950 which is 12.4 percent of our total expenditures (if frozen at this year's total).That PSERS mandated employer contribution rate of 32.02 percent of employee gross wages is then expected to remain at that rate for the next 10-15 years beyond 2020!In summary, one fact is that from 1995-96 to 2014-15, Weatherly received a total state revenue amount higher than the prior year except for three years. That fact is not the overly reported false media mantra of the state, any legislator or our previous governor(s) cutting educational funding over the years by my analysis!Sincerely,Gerry GregaWeatherly Area School Board member