Council Rock Funding Reduced in State Budget

Council Rock School District officials say the $27.3 billion budget proposed by Governor Tom Corbett will have local reverberations when it comes to education funding.

Corbett unveiled his 2011-2012 budget proposal Tuesday, and the figures don’t look promising for Council Rock, officials said.

The governor is seeking to cut approximately $550 million in basic education funding statewide. He’s proposing pay freezes for public school employees to make up for some of the difference.

Council Rock Director of Business Administration Robert W. Reinhart said the proposed state budget will impact the district’s budget adversely by approximately $3.7 million.

Even before the district learned of the state education funding cuts, it was anticipating a tough budget year.

Last month, the Council Rock School Board pledged to keep next year’s budget within Act 1 requirements. Under Act 1, the district must limit the budget increase to 1.4 percent of the previous year unless an exception is sought.

That means the budget will be need to be somewhere between $196 million and $198 million, according to Reinhart. A $196 million budget represents no increase. The maximum increase of 1.4 percent would put the budget at about $198 million.

Superintendent Mark Klein has said the district's budgetary issues stem from revenue problems, not overspending. Klein said the district’s ability to collect interest on investments has decreased. Real estate assessment appeals have also cost the district as much as $4 million, he estimated.

The district is still in the early stages of the budget process. The board will consider a preliminary budget in April.  A final budget will be approved in June.

In light of the governor’s announcement Tuesday, Reinhart said the district will have to make some adjustments.

“Over the next few weeks we will be working on identifying budget reductions that will be necessary,” Reinhart said.

Here's a summary of the governor's vision for education funding in the 2011-2012 budget, according to a statement from his office:

• Local public schools will receive $8.6 billion, including $5.2 billion in Basic Education funding.
• Early childhood education programs will receive funding at or about this year’s level. Specifically, the budget proposes $198 million for Early Intervention, $83.6 million for Pre-K Counts and $37.7 million for Head Start Supplemental Assistance.
• Funding to universities in the State System of Higher Education and the four state-related institutions, including Penn State, Temple, University of Pittsburgh, and Lincoln University, will be reduced by about 50 percent.
• The budget suggests a one-year salary freeze from all school employees – administrators, teachers and support staff. Such a salary freeze could save local school districts $400 million, according to the governor.
• A school grading system to measure both academic and fiscal strength. Academic components would include student performance and other objective measures; fiscal measures would provide information on school expenditures, salaries, and costs-per-student.
• More flexibility in staff decisions for local school districts, including the furlough of professional employees for economic reasons. Currently, districts must cite a change in educational programs or a dramatic change in enrollment.
• Eliminating support for salary “bumps” for teachers with master’s degrees, which could save school districts about $200 million, the governor said.
• Supports policy initiatives to measure teacher effectiveness and compensation, including merit pay, tenure reform, and alternative certification.
• Options for families and students to attend the school of their choice will be expanded, as well as measures to enhance charter school and cyber school quality and accountability.

To view the full statement regarding education funding and other information related to the state budget, click here.

“I ask nothing more of our best-educated people than to face up to a hard economic reality. The system in which you have flourished is in trouble. We cannot save it by individual efforts,’’ Corbett said in his statement. "The sacrifice must be collective, as will be the ultimate rewards."