Upper St. Clair revisits district budget

Upper St. Clair school officials are looking to trim a proposed $73.7 million budget for the 2015-16 school year and cut back on a proposed 0.84-mill property tax increase.

The school board initially passed the preliminary budget to give the district an option to increase taxes above the 1.9 percent limit allowed by state Act 1 — districts must either assemble a budget showing all the Act 1 exemptions they'd qualify for, or pass a resolution pledging to keep any tax hikes within the state's limits. But Finance Director Frosina Cordisco said staff and the board will work during the next month to reduce the costs and proposed tax increase.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” she said. “What you'll see between now and the (board) meeting in April is a lot of details about the budget.”

The school board on Tuesday got a more in-depth review of the proposed expenses, with a line-item accounting of each department's requested budget. Board president Frank Kerber deferred comment to Cordisco and Superintendent Patrick O'Toole, who could not be reached.

“The numbers we reviewed were all the requests from principals and departments… We have work to do in terms of cutting,” said Superintendent Patrick O'Toole. “State funding is so uncertain, it could fluctuate from about $800,000 to $1.1 million.”

As proposed, the tax increase would increase residents' annual property tax bill by $83.98 for every $100,000 of their home's assessed value. The total millage would be 23.0355 mills, or $2,303.55 per $100,000 of assessed value. The median home value in Upper St. Clair is $227,850.

Cordisco said the main drivers of the budget's 6 percent growth were:

• A $1.6 million increase in salaries through contractual raises and continuing support for the district's effort to use iPads as a learning tool for every student;

• A $1.8 million increase in benefits as the district has to pay more for health insurance and is required by the state to put more toward the Public School Employees Retirement System;

• A $350,000 increase in special education costs.

The March 9 version of the budget contained a gap of about $918,000 between revenues and expenses, which would have to be closed with cuts, new revenue or the district's cash reserves.

Cordisco said staff and the board would work through May to refine the budget, monitoring the effects of state initiatives like Gov. Tom Wolf's budget and proposed pension reforms; possible staffing and enrollment changes; and other factors.

Copies of her proposed budget are posted online under the “school board” section at uscsd.k12.pa.us.

Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5625 or msantoni@tribweb.com.