Palmerton Area School District has eyed several potential big-ticket items as it continues to wrestle with the 2011-12 budget.

Six of the nine member school board met with the district's administrative team for three hours on Tuesday to once again review next year's spending plan.Board members looked over revised budget's brought forth by the district's administrative team, and were asked to suggest potential tax increases it could support.Board President Barry Scherer told the sparse audience in attendance that the purpose for the meeting was to "discuss our budget dilemma."Last month, the board, on a 5-4 vote, agreed to adopt the $27,388,661 preliminary budget that calls for a 12.6-percent, or 5.5-mill increase that would raise the millage rate from 43.64 to 49.14 mills.That would mean a person with a home valued at $100,000 and assessed at $50,000 would pay $2,455, or $275 more in property taxes to the district next year.Donna Les, part-time interim acting business manager, said that as per the current 2011-12 preliminary budget, revenues are at $26,187,118, while expenditures are at $27,026,000, which leaves an $838,882 shortfall.Les told the school board at a committee workshop earlier this month that about $10,000 had been shaved off the district's preliminary budget.She said at that time the cuts would reduce the proposed spending plan from $27,388,817 to $27,378,655 due to medical insurance budgeted costs ($244,116); an athletic fund transfer ($133,545); and an increase in the IU Special Education Contract ($130,086).Other areas that were affected were a new technology position ($67,018); add impact of support staff contract ($58,918) cut new part-time secretary ($27,387); and cut facilities vehicle ($21,700), Les previously said.If the board were to approve a budget with a 5.5-mill increase, Les said at that time that would mean no program cuts would be required.Should the board approve a budget with a 5-mill increase, that would require program cuts of $144,304; a 4-mill increase, $429,489; a 3-mill increase, $714,674; a 2-mill increase, $999,589; and a 1-mill increase, $1,285,044, she said at that time.All of those scenarios were prior to the governor's proposed budget passed earlier this month.As a result, Les said if the board were to adopt next year's budget with a 5.5-mill increase as currently presented, it would still need to cut $838,882.Or, if the board were to approve next year's budget with a 3-mill increase, Les said it would still need to make $1.5 million in cuts.Les then presented the board with a list of the district's non-mandated costs to review."We really need to have some direction for the preliminary budget," Les said. "I need to know what kind of millage you'll support."Some of the non-mandated costs discussed include a districtwide salary freeze in the 2011-12 school year ($398,132); departmental cuts ($167,524); pupil transportation, excluding special education per IEP ($500,000); the potential reduction of a 4.2-percent increase to 1.9-percent in the Carbon Career & Technical Institute's 2011-12 budget ($153,922); and the ability to rescind approval of Lehigh Carbon Community College's 2011-12 budget ($206,618).Other non-mandated costs are the potential elimination of aides at Towamensing Elementary, S.S. Palmer Elementary and the high school ($197,000); athletics wages plus transfer plus insurance ($398,649); student activities ($126,923); elimination of all overtime ($30,559); elimination of all districtwide summer hours ($20,904); public library support ($17,000); curriculum writing ($17,553); and to eliminate drug testing funds ($10,000)Despite the dialogue, none of the non-mandated costs have been eliminated by the board.Director Carl Bieling said the district has to be able to "find something that's in the middle."Les discouraged the board from tapping into its fund balance to help offset the deficit."You really don't have much of a fund balance to rely on this year to balance your budget," she said. "This is probably the last year any school district in Pennsylvania will be able to raise taxes above the index."Scherer said that while the district could draw out of the fund balance to assist with this year's budget, it would put the district in worse shape next year."I think we need to go with the 5.506 mills [increase]," Scherer said. "There's no way we're going to be able to come with the cuts."Director Tina Snyder said she couldn't support such a high increase."I'm not for the 5.5," Snyder said. "I think that's too much for the taxpayers."Director Susan Debski as difficult as it is, she would support a 5.5-mill increase."It's not an easy thing to do, not the popular thing to do," Debski said. "Nobody wants to do it."Scherer said the board is faced with a difficult decision."Former boards have been nice with [past] tax increases and have taken money that was in the bank and spent it," he said. "Sooner or later, someone's going to have to make the decisions. We can't continue to go down that road."Debski noted that a 5.5-mill increase would amount to an extra $23 a month, or the cost of one pizza, to the average person."There's ways to cut," she said. "It comes down to do you value education for your children, or do you find things to cut back on."Director Stuart Henritzy said he wouldn't support a 5.5-mill increase.Nor would Bieling, who suggested that each department look to cut a certain percentage evenly."Spread it across," Bieling said. "I'm saying just be fair; don't hit one department and not the others."Bieling said his concern isn't only for the 2011-12 spending plan, but the 2012-13 budget as well."My concern is the next two years," he said. "We can't deny we're in trouble."Resident Randolph Getz told the board he believes"I think you're prolonging the inevitable," Getz said. "You're going to have to make cuts."Resident Charles Cales told the board he commended them for their efforts."You have a hard hoe to row," Kales said. "Next year is going to get tougher."At the conclusion of the meeting, the board agreed it would hold a special meeting to again review the budget. No date has been established.In January, Les reworked next year's spending plan in order to avoid an additional 2.72-mill increase on top of a 3.56-mill, or 8.15 percent, increase in the 2011-12 preliminary budget the board agreed to advertise for adoption in January.Otherwise, that would have increased the millage rate from 43.64 to 47.20 mills, which would have meant a person with a home valued at $100,000 and assessed at $50,000 would have paid $2,360, or about $180 more in property taxes next year.Les told the board at that time that of the $1.7 million the district had in its fund balance, only $730,000 remains after the other $923,000 was used to balance the current year's budget.The amount of money the district budgeted for its share of the 2011-12 CCTI budget was understated by about $351,060, Les said at that time. Also, the loss of $426,051 in federal program money would have required an additional 2.72-mill increase in the district's preliminary budget, she said.Les said revisions to next year's preliminary budget increased expenditures $555,498, from $26.8 million to $27.3 million, which represents a 1.95-mill increase over the initial preliminary budget.Superintendent Carol Boyce acknowledged at that time that a reconciliation of billing showed that the district has "been significantly under budgeting for the last several years." Les said the reconciliation was completed in November.However, Les cautioned that the preliminary budget is only a rough draft, and therefore could be modified between now and final adoption due by June 30.Boyce said at that time she and Les "will be talking with every building administrator" in an effort to re-evaluate their respective spending plans.In December, the committee met with each of the district's department heads as part of a pair of meetings in its attempt to craft next year's spending plan.As required by Act 1 of 2006, the board intends to seek approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, or the Carbon County Court, for all referendum exceptions for which the district qualifies.Les told the committee there were several referendum exceptions the district qualified for: special education, retirement contributions, and maintenance of local revenues.This year, homeowners saw a 3.9 percent, or 1.64-mill increase, in their property tax rates after the board in June approved the 2010-11 budget on a 5-4 vote that raised the millage rate from 42 to 43.64 mills.That meant a person with a home valued at $100,000, which was assessed at $50,000, paid $2,182 in property taxes to the district, $82 more than the $2,100 rate they paid in 2009-10 when the board passed a budget with a 2.44 percent, or 1 mill, increase that resulted in a $50 increase for residents with the same home value.