School board members agreed to keep after-school buses in the Pottsgrove district's 2010-11 budget.

POTTSTOWN PA – Anticipating that Pennsylvania will renege on its earlier offer to provide a $309,000 increase in basic education subsidies for the Pottsgrove School District next year, the district Board of School Directors informally but unanimously agreed Tuesday (May 25, 2010) to additional savings of about $273,000 in its tentative budget if the state money doesn’t arrive.

Only $128,000 of those savings come from actual cuts, according to Business Administrator David Nester: one of three councilor positions planned for next year won’t be hired, eliminating $46,000 in costs; and a retiring employee won’t be replaced, saving about $82,000. The remaining $145,000 comes from additional revenue the district estimates it will gain from taxes paid by business tenants at the Upland Square Shopping Center, Nester said.

Board members decided against saving another $25,000 to $35,000 in Nester-suggested cuts that would have eliminated after-school busing for sports, tutoring, and extracurricular programs at the elementary, middle, and high schools. Directors were uniformly adamant the buses should keep running.

The board also gave itself an out, thanks to Nester, on whether the personnel cuts would be reinstated even if extra state funding comes through. Given the way he proposes to structure the cuts within the district’s bookkeeping system, Nester said the board will have the discretion to use the previously budgeted subsidies “as it sees fit.”

Don’t hold your breath on that, Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis cautioned directors. “We’re thinking we’re going to get a little something extra, but t will be far less than the $309,000 we were first told,” he said, as he reported on state Department of Education meetings he attended last week.

The state is backing off on the additional subsidy money, first proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell, because of its continuing fiscal crisis. Leaders of the state Senate earlier this month issued a letter to all school districts warning they should not expect any funding guarantees for 2010-2011.

The board did not take an official vote on its action; directors present simply voiced their agreement with all proposals except those regarding the buses. Nester will incorporate the changes into the final budget to be adopted by directors next month. Board Treasurer Fred Remelius was absent from the meeting.

Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ May 25 meeting):

• Board Cuts Budget More, But Keeps After-School Busing
• Pottsgrove Authorizes Pius Lease For Ringing Relocation

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