The Sanatoga Post

POTTSTOWN PA —  Pottsgrove School District property taxes, the primary source of revenue for  district operations, could rise by as much as $145 for the average homeowner under a preliminary 2012-2013 budget initially discussed Tuesday (Dec. 6, 2011) by the Board of School Directors, The (Pottstown PA) Mercury newspaper reported Sunday (Dec. 11).

Adoption of a budget in final form is not expected until next June. The Mercury said Business Administrator David Nester acknowledges the finished spending plan may look significantly different than the one he introduced to board members during their busy meeting night, which also involved its annual reorganization and a report concerning redistricting.

Under the state’s Act 1 index, a form of legislative budget restriction, the district currently is allowed to hike property taxes by up to 2.2 percent in 2012. On an “average” residential property with an assessed value of $120,000, that would represent an increase of about $92 over the 2011-2012 rate.

But the act also permits districts to raise taxes above their indexed cap to recover certain costs like increased pension expenses. That’s known as an exception, and Nester told directors Pottsgrove could qualify for one worth another 1.26 percent – creating an additional tax hike of $53 – for a total of $145.

Board members are charged with making those decisions. Nester merely laid out the options, The Mercury noted.

• Read a story by reporter Evan Brandt, titled “Proposed Pottsgrove budget includes tax hike” and published Sunday by The Mercury, here.

Related (to the Pottsgrove School District 2012-2013 budget):

• Tax Hike Shows In Preliminary Peek At Pottsgrove Budget
• Pottsgrove Model For Budget Force Gets Earlier Start

Sign outside the West Chester Area School District administration building

POTTSTOWN PA – A Chester County PA school system, whose Community Budget Task Force seemed so successful that it caused the Pottsgrove School District Board of School Directors last year to copy the model and create a group just like it, is getting what may be the earliest start yet on crunching numbers for 2012-2013 revenues and expenses.

In a letter to his community published Wednesday (Aug. 31, 2011) by the West Chester Patch online news service, Dr. James Scanlon, superintendent of the West Chester Area School District, urged parents, taxpayers and anyone else interested to attend a Sept. 13 meeting in the district’s East High School to form committees and begin budget planning for the following year.

That would normally be three to four months ahead of when Pottsgrove begins tentative budget work.

West Chester “remains committed to involve our community in major decisions such as those that impact our annual budget,” Scanlon wrote. “Demands for services continue to increase and revenues are forecast to decrease again in 2012-13 and beyond. It is more important than ever for us to hear directly from community members what the priorities are when it comes to making decisions about funding programs,” he added.

Once started, committee work would continue through October and be completed by late November under Scanlon’s timeline. That would be followed by a task force report presentation in December. West Chester’s school board would evaluate the recommendations in January 2012, and vote on a final budget by June 2012.

• Read the entire document, titled “Letter to the Editor: WCASD Forming Community Budget Task Force” and published Wednesday by The Patch, here.

Pottsgrove directors, at the suggestion of district Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis, decided in October 2010 to adopt West Chester’s idea of forming a task force to solicit community input on how the 2011-2012 budget could be shaped. By the time the budget was finally approved, they pronounced themselves satisfied with the experience.

Related (to the Pottsgrove School District 2011-2012 budget):

• Pottsgrove Model For Budget Force Gets Earlier Start
• After The Budget, Pottsgrove Directors Bat Clean-Up
• Unlike Pottsgrove, Most Districts (So Far) Avoid Freeze
• PA Legislators Work To Reform Schools’ Taxing Abilities
• Pottsgrove Task Force, A Good Idea Copied, Copied Again
• Of 7 Final Budget Choices, Pottsgrove Landed In Middle
• Pottsgrove OKs Final Budget: 1.8% Tax Hike, About $74
• ‘Cyber School, Here We Come,’ Pottsgrove Proclaims
• Budget-Motivated Pottsgrove Admin Changes Approved
• Plan To Further Cut Pottsgrove Tax Hike Dies In Tie
• Pottsgrove Cuts Admin Job Among Leadership Changes
• Pottsgrove Plans For Re-Assignments A Budget-Saver?
• Teamsters Agree, Too, On Wage Freeze For Pottsgrove
• Does Pottsgrove Have An Administrative Cut-In-Waiting?
• Red And Yellow Items Left On Pottsgrove Budget Table
• Pottsgrove OKs 2.8% Tax Hike In Tentative Budget
• Local School Boards Face Both Cuts And Policy Changes
• Pottsgrove Chinese Language Students Face Cuts Again
• Pottsgrove Task Force Didn’t Shelve Pay-To-Play Plan
• Committee: Charter School May Save Pottsgrove $70K
• Pottsgrove Paying $28K Next Year For MCIU Support
• Secretary Says Schools Must Find Funds Themselves
• College Students Protest Proposed Ed Budget Cuts
• Pay Freeze Endorsed As Pottsgrove Labor Talks Start
• Pottsgrove High Protesters Exercise Art Of Compromise
• Pottsgrove’s Landis Distributes State Fund Comparison
• Pottsgrove Budget Deficit Balloons With Gov’s Proposal
• MCIU Budgets On Pottsgrove Schools Agenda Tonight
• PA House OKs ‘Cut And Replace’ On Education Funding
• Idea: Other Local Schools Consider Extracurricular Fees
• Idea: Pottsgrove Might Prosper With Own Charter School
• Pooling Resources Could Save Pottsgrove On Special Ed
• Like Pottsgrove Task Force, Outsiders Weigh Cost Vs. Value
• Task Force Crowd Packs Into Pottsgrove For First Session
• School Budget Task Force Kicks Off Its Work Tonight
• Does Western PA School Tax Uprising Foretell Mood Here?
• Pottsgrove Schools Budget Short Another $400,000
• Pottsgrove, As Expected, Adopts Budget First Draft
• Pottsgrove Tentative Budget Adoption Expected
• Weather Postpones Pottsgrove Budget Meeting
• Still Time In Pottsgrove For Budget Volunteers To Enlist
• Challenge To Pottsgrove Budget Advisers: 10 Percent
• Best Guesses, Deficit Launch Pottsgrove Budget Season
• Senate Education Chair Preps For Voucher, Choice Battle
• School Board Questions Pottsgrove Recreation Costs
• Pension Reform Vote Could Benefit Pottsgrove, Others
• Notebook Worthy: News Reporters Made News Tuesday
• Pottsgrove Isn’t Waiting In Search For Budget Volunteers
• If You’ve Got A Budget Idea, Pottsgrove Says It’ll Listen
• Pottsgrove Seeks More Public Input On District Budget

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