Seneca Valley Reacts to Corbett's Budget Proposal, Seeks Tax Increase

Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday unveiled a $27.3 billion proposed budget for Pennsylvania.

The plan calls for drastic cuts in many areas, including basic education, which is slated to take a cut of approximately $500 million. Corbett also called for school districts to "to hold the line" even if it means a pay freeze for school employees.

The governor's plan also calls for substantial cuts in funds to state-related universities. The University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University, for example, would see their state funding essentially halved under the governor's plan.

Corbett also called for no severance tax on the extraction of natural gas from Marcellus Shale areas in an effort to "make Pennsylvania the hub of this [natural-gas] boom."

At the Seneca Valley School District, officials were prepared for the proposed cuts.

“To summarize, it was what we expected,” said Linda Andreassi, the district’s director of communications.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Donald J. Tylinski said the district would fnext year because of proposed cutbacks in education funding.

The move will force the district to cut some programs -- and residents also may expect a potential hike in school taxes.

On Tuesday, the superintendent released a statement on the school website detailing the district’s efforts to seek exceptions from the state that could raise tax rates by up to 5.6 mills.

In February, the board approved a preliminary budget based on an index increase of 1.6 percent, which for Seneca Valley comes to a 1.6 millage increase. The value was assigned to the district through the Pennsylvania Department of Education in compliance with the state Taxpayer Relief Act.

The act limits increases unless the district obtains certain exceptions or if voters, in a referendum, approve a tax increase. The Department of Education lists 10 permissable exceptions, and Andreassi said the district is applying for three of them in areas of health care and special education.

The school board would need to approve any tax increases.

Board member Eric Gordon cautioned this doesn’t mean the board would raise taxes by 5.6 mills. If approved, the amount of an increase could fall anywhere in between.

“However, the horrendous cuts laid out at last night’s meeting would be just enough to get us to a balanced budget … assuming a 5.6 mill increase,” Gordon said in a message to Cranberry Patch.

Should the exceptions be approved, Tylinski said, anything above and beyond the 5.6 mills would have to be approved by voters in a referendum and would become a ballot question in the May elections.

Andreassi said 5.6 mills would bring the district $2.75 million. While that’s not close to making up the $10 million shortfall, she said it would help retain district programs.

“It’s still $2.75 million in cuts that don’t have to be made,” she said.

On the chopping block are programs like the Junior Reserves Officers Training Corps, the seventh-grade football team, the seventh- and eighth-grade cross country and track and field teams, and intramurals for kindergarten through eighth grade.

Tylinski emphasized that the proposed cutbacks are “choices” the board may make to balance the budget, but some programs could be substituted to save something else.

He also said teachers and other staff members across the district could be furloughed.

Gordon said the the district would have some flexibility as the state for the first time would allow employees to be furloughed solely for economic reasons.

The board also unanimously passed an early-retirement incentive program for custodians and secretaries on Monday. Tylinski said the school district is looking to save about $2 million through early-retirement programs and by not filling vacated positions.

In his speech, Corbett mentioned that the recession wasn't going to last forever. Gordon took that to heart.

"That's true, so we can't look at cuts to favored programs as permanent," he said. "We will recover, as long as we make the tough decisions now that will allow us to do so."

Still, Gordon warned, making those choices won't be easy.

"We're really going to have some tough decisions," he said. "It's not going to be pretty, I can't emphasize that enough. It’s not going to be pretty and no one is going to like it."

In his statement, Tylinski said reductions in state and federal funding, increased costs to the retirement system, and using money from the district's fund balance --  similar to a savings account -- contributed to the district's current financial situation.

"These factors combined to create what I believe is the "perfect storm" for all public schools as they move through the budget process," he said.

Prior to the 2007-08 and the 2008-09 school years -- when the district did not raise taxes  -- Gordon said the fund balance was above state-recommended levels. Today, he said, the amount of money in the district's savings account was below the state's recommendation. 

Andreassi said more details would be provided in the weeks ahead, starting at next Monday’s regular board meeting.

“There will be much dialogue in the weeks and months to come,” she said.

To read Tylinski’s full statement, including a summary of the district’s budget history, and a list of ways the district has tried to keep costs down  over the years, click here. 

You also can read the full text of Corbett's budget address in the photo gallery near the top of this page.