Moving SVSD Forward Starts Now

Good morning,

I was, unfortunately, not able to attend any of the School Board meetings last month due to family commitments. Needless to say, of all the months to miss, that was not the one! Hearing of the vote to increase our taxes when there was a 6 week window to see about other options and what additional funds would be granted, made little sense to me. Therefore, I would like to how you both arrived at your decisions. If the Board would have waited the six weeks to see what the additional funds would be and found yourselves then in the position of still falling short, I think you would have found the community much more accepting of the decision. I am concerned that a new rift has just been formed between the schools and the community. This time, I can't blame them for being upset.

I will look forward to your reply.

(Email to School Board member Eric Gordon from a Seneca Valley School District resident)

Good morning!

Please read the for Cranberry Patch:

I understand that some on the board were advocating for a delay. Although that sounds like a good plan on the surface, they were ignoring the reality that we face a multi-year budgeting issue.

This year's budget was balanced, but just barely. Some of the revenue sources we used were one-time shots ... meaning we're not going to have that money available in next year's budget (for example, the $1 million delinquent real estate tax sale). Add those items to contractual increases in teacher salaries, and we STILL have a pretty big hole for next year. I'll make a very rough estimate of around $4-5M, over $3M in salary increases alone. Seneca still has more cutting to do, unless for some odd reason the teachers union would agree to a pay freeze, something they refused to do this year!

A budget is a spending plan. We authorized $94 million in spending, regardless of revenues. Any additional funds we receive from the state will simply add to the fund balance (the district's bank account), making it easier for next year's budgeting.

The arguement was that if we waited, we might not have had to raise taxes as much as we did. If this was the only year we were going to have a problem, then yes, absolutely we should have waited. But when you understand budgeting shouldn't be a "one year at a time" issue, you can appreciate why we moved forward when we did.

Might I add too, if you recall two years ago, the state went past their deadline for a budget by almost four months, and last years budget was late by a month. I have little faith that they'll do any better this year, even though Republicans have complete control in Harrisburg.

I understand that increased taxes are a burden on everybody... myself included! I wouldn't have voted for this budget if it didn't have the level of cuts that it did to actual district spending ($2.7 million). Seniors on fixed incomes are hit the hardest, something I'm working to address via local charity organizations. I also understand that the taxpayer's pocket is not an endless well... I will reject any proposal next year that doesn't directly reflect further cuts of state or federal monies into dollar-for-dollar cuts to spending. Reducing subsidies to local governments to keep money for welfare and waste is wrong, and I hope that conservatives like Paul Ryan can reign in our top heavy government and keep money where it is needed the most.

Please give me a call if I can explain any of this further!

Kind regards,

Eric R. Gordon                                                                                                                                     School Director, Seneca Valley School District - Region 5

Eric Gordon is a Seneca Valley School Director representing Cranberry Twp – Region 5.  He has chosen to reach out to his constituents through this blog, in an effort to keep the community informed of school-related issues. The opinions expressed in this blog are his own, and are NOT the official positions of the Seneca Valley School Board. Official communications from the district can be found at www.svsd.net.