It took some work, but the Perkiomen Valley School Board approved its preliminary budget with a very early proposed tax hike of 6.26 percent, down quite a bit from the earlier proposed increase of 11.34 percent.
At Monday evening’s meeting, Business Administrator Jim Weaver reviewed the changes in the budget from the last presentation given in January. A school nurse was added to the budget at an annual salary of $34,000, and Weaver noted that that position must be filled to meet state requirements for nurse to student ratios. The district eliminated 10 proposed positions earlier in the budget process, and was planning to staff one position, a technology assistant at a salary of $65,000, in the 2009-2010 school year.
The district made up ground by decreasing its operations budget, taking out special projects such as painting Skippack and PV East, and cutting the library book budget by $52,000. Weaver also said that special education funding would be reduced, and debt service would be decreased by $473,900. A textbook purchase of $79,000 can be held off until the following school year, and summer school cuts would total $10,000. The high school supply account funding will also drop by $24,000, according to Weaver.
There are still many uncertainties in the budget, stemming from the fact that the governor’s budget hasn’t been approved yet, and also because no one is sure how the proposed economic stimulus package may affect school funding.
Due to Act 1, the school district can only increase taxes by 4.1 percent. That cap can rise if the district qualifies for certain exceptions under state law, although Weaver didn’t seem confident that the district would qualify for any of those. Any amount of tax increase over 4.1 percent would have to go to a vote by the district’s taxpayers.
For taxpayers, an increase of 6.26 percent would amount to an extra $165 per year for every $100,000 of assessed property value. An increase to the cap of 4.1 percent would mean a tax bill of $108 more for every $100,000 of assessed value.
The district still has plenty of time to work the numbers, Weaver reassured. The final budget is set for approval June 8.
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