Cooperation
helps cut school budget
Public works employees to provide
labor, equipment for district repair projects.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005 • By ANDREA EILENBERGER
• The Express-Times
FRANKLIN TWP. -- School district and
municipal officials agreed to work together on summer repair
and maintenance projects in order to cut $10,000 from the
recently defeated school board budget.
Township department of public works
employees will pitch in labor and equipment to help school
district employees with some fencing and grounds
projects.
"Fortunately we have a public works
department here that is supportive," district superintendent
Roger Jinks said. "Through the support of the township and
the department of public works, we can get some of these
projects done without costing the district."
Under the revised plan, the tax rate will
be 79.4 cents per $100 of assessed home value, which is
about 2 cents more than last year. A resident with a home
assessed at the township's average of $303,792 can expect to
pay $2,412 in school taxes next year.
Jinks said the district knew it had to
prepare a lean budget, and didn't allow for any significant
spending increases. When the $4,356,281 plan was defeated in
April, he said committee members were aware of the
district's situation and were willing to help.
"Of course it was already tight and we
wanted to find places to make cuts without affecting any
services for the children, and we were very happy to be able
to do that," township Mayor Larry Adams said. "We always
want to do anything we can to help the school
out."
Jinks said the summer projects include
installing fencing and cement pads underneath dumpsters in
muddy areas. Township and school laborers might also get
some help from prisoners on work release, Jinks
said.
"They wouldn't be violent people or
dangerous criminals, but typically people who need to pay
community service," Jinks said. "This is a creative way to
help complete these projects while maintaining some tax
relief."
Most of the overall budget increase comes
from higher employee health benefit costs, district Business
Administrator Heather Spitzer said.
Officials expect to see the cost increase
by $55,297 over last year, bringing the total amount to
$675,463. Contracted salary raises and other increased
operational costs make up the rest of the overall spending
increase, Spitzer said.
With the graduation of a special
education student, the district expects to see some savings
in instruction, transportation and tuition costs, she said.
The district plans to spend about $25,000 less for
out-of-district special education instruction, which
includes tuition.
"Even if taxpayers would have allowed us
to spend more money, we could not have," Spitzer said. "The
state really tied our hands."
State legislation capped overall budget
increases at about 3 percent this year, and will limit it to
about 2 percent next year. Besides limiting the ways a
district can budget its expenses and revenues, it also
limits the amount of surplus a district can hold.
Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at
908-475-8044 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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