WASHINGTON TWP. >> Facing a budget deficit of nearly $6 million in the coming school year, a proposal to hold the line of taxes and not raise them above the 2.9 percent increase allowed under the state index failed on a 5-4 vote Tuesday night.
The vote came toward the end of a meeting prior to which the finance committee was informed tough choices will be facing the board this budget season; and at which the annual audit indicated there are no discrepancies in the district’s books.
The motion to limit any future tax hike was made by board member Christine Neiman who cited the predicament of senior citizens being driven from their home by high taxes.
“Have many of you people on this board can say you’ve lived here your entire lives?” asked Neiman. “We have to quit raising their taxes so (senior citizens) have to sell their homes for a lot less than they’re worth.”
Board member Brandon Foose said although he is only 30, he is the third generation of his family to live in the district, but nevertheless did not support the resolution largely because it would prevent the board from exercising the option of seeking “exceptions” from the state, which would allow a tax hike above the index.
“My grandmother is concerned about my children’s education,” he said.
Voting in favor of the tax cap was Neiman and board members Ruth Dierolf, Clay Breece and Robert Caso. Foose and board members Donna Usavage, Jill Dennin, Steve Eisler and David Lewis voted against it.
Those voting against it said it would close options that might allow the budget to be balanced in other ways, such as using “exceptions” to raise taxes above the index limit without having to go to the voters in the spring.
Act 1 requires a board to seek permission from the voters to raise taxes above the index. But using the limited number of “exceptions” to that rule allows the increase to be put into place without voter approval.
Interim Superintendent David Krem and Interim Business Manager Linda Adams both took the unusual step of advising against sticking with the cap.
“I would advise you, don’t close the door on your options because once it’s closed, it stays closed,” Krem said.
“I won’t lie, if you pass this now it will make my life a lot easier because I won’t have to do a budget for you guys and frankly, I’m not thrilled about doing a budget for you,” said Adams.
“But as a professional, I cannot recommend this as prudent. You have kept to the index for many years and it is designed to keep up with inflation, but your costs have not,” Adams said.
Big decisions lay ahead, she said, “you may need to cut programs. You may need to close a school. You’ve kicked this can down the road as long as you can. You need to do something and you need to start doing it now.”
In her presentation to the finance committee, which was available to those at the school board meeting, Adams pointed out that at 25.02 mills, Boyertown has the second lowest tax rate of the 18 school districts in Berks County.
And of the 22 school districts in Montgomery County, Boyertown’s tax rate is sixth from the bottom.
The draft $115.3 million budget Adams presented represents increased spending of nearly $6 million, with numerous factors indicated as causes for the hike.
The student population continues to grow in the Montgomery County portion of the district and decline in the Berks County portion; and the teacher contract expires at the end of June, meaning a new contract must be negotiated and will likely include raises, according to the presentation.
Fewer staff retired than expected last year, although that night the board approved the retirement of five teachers with a combined experience of more than 180 years and an average length of service of 36 years.
Also, the special education population continues to grow, according to the presentation, leading board member Clay Breece to remark: “I have a direct interest in finding out what special ed is costing us with 22 percent of our children getting into special education. I don’t think we have mercury in the water in Boyertown, so I don’t think 22 out of 100 kids needs special education.”
The special education budget is significant in terms of the board’s vote Tuesday because it is one of the “exceptions” Act 1 allows a district to exceed the index limit to address.
The budget, as it stands now early in the process, has a deficit of nearly $6 million – $5,983,697 to be exact – according to Adams’ presentation.
The current real estate tax rate of 25.02 mills would increase to 25.75 mills by sticking with the index limit – a 2.9 percent increase. That would add $1.8 million to the revenue side of the equation and cut the deficit down to $3.2 million.
Making use of the “exception” for special education would allow the district to further increase taxes by 0.6334 mills, adding another $1,583,546 to the revenue stream and cutting the deficit to $1,573,546, according to the budget information.
That would bring the tax rate to 26.38 mills – a tax hike of 5.44 percent, which would still leave Boyertown with the sixth lowest tax rate in Montgomery County and the second lowest in Berks County.
Staying at the index, as Neiman’s proposal had suggested, would have required a $4.2 million cut from existing operations, or $3.1 million if fund balances was tapped to cover some of the gap.
Ways to do that might include closing a building, or reducing or eliminating “non-mandated programs,” which include kindergarten, music, fine arts, health, safety and physical education, the library or athletics, according to the presentation.
Each of those programs costs taxpayers between $1.2 million and $1.8 million, with the exception of health, safety and physical education, which has a $2.5 million price tag.
Further, by the 2022-2023 school year, expenditures could jump by another $15 million, the presentation forecast, which would exceed revenue increases allowed under the index, according to Adams.
Caso noted that nothing was done on the budget all summer long because it wasn’t “budget season” yet. “Budget season is 24 hours a day, every day because money never sleeps,” Caso said.
“Finding balance is extremely difficult,” said Usavage, who said she voted against Neiman’s motion because says she “does not want to take options off the table.”
“No one wants to raise taxes, but no one wants to cut sports, or art, or music or close a school,” Lewis said. “But it can’t go on like this.”
