School Board To Consider Preliminary Budget Thursday

Council Rock School Board will start its budget process Thursday as it considers a proposed preliminary budget for 2012-2013.

Thursday's meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at the . Click here to view the full agenda.

The proposed preliminary budget, which is an early rough outline of the district’s finances, calls for $205.3 million in expenditures, according to a draft of the budget posted on the district’s website.

Council Rock taxpayers did not face a tax increase in 2011-2012, when the district’s budget was $198.6 million.

In September, the Pennsylvania Department of Education announced that the Act 1 index for the 2012-13 budget year is 1.7 percent.  The Act 1 index is the limit a school district may raise taxes without applying for exceptions or seeking approval through referendum. 

Council Rock School District announced last week that it intends to apply for a single exception to the Act 1 index. That exception is for the increase in the district’s payments to the Public School Employee Retirement Fund. If the board approves of this exception, it would mean school taxes could increase as much as 3 percent.

“While the Board of School Directors is not obligated to use this exception or even the taxation threshold of 1.7 percent, the presentation and adoption of this preliminary budget in January provides the greatest opportunity for flexibility in difficult economic times,” the district said in a press release.

According to figures provided by the district, the Act 1 index of 1.7 percent is an increase of $2.27 from the previous year’s budget.  The proposed Act 1 exception would permit the district to budget an additional 1.3 percent – or $1.7 million.

Approval of a proposed preliminary budget is the first step in the budget process. The district has until the end of June to finalize its 2012-2013 budget.