Buena Regional, municipalities reach deal on school budget 7/18/06
BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — The Buena Regional School District has a budget, three
months after voters defeated the school spending plan for the fifth time in as
many years.
Buena Vista Township and Buena Borough officials unanimously approved an
additional $853,000 in cuts — a compromise after the municipalities first
suggested lopping off $1 million — which will drop the school tax rate by 10
cents for both municipalities, to 35 cents and 25 cents respectively.
The rejection votes, spending cuts and eventual haggling have become a yearly
occurrence for the district and municipal committees.
“It's like walking on pins and needles for months,” said Linda Ravoir, a
teacher's aid at Collings Lakes who received a letter earlier this year saying
her position may be cut. No jobs were lost in the final school budget.
Maryann DeFeo, a teacher's aid at Edgarton, agreed.
“There should be cuts at the basic levels,” she said, instead of considering
staff member reductions. “District cell phones come to mind.”
School officials consistently point to two court decisions that label their
district as a special-needs case, a distinction that hasn't given them any extra
funding as of yet. The district in the meantime has not replaced several
teachers and needs updated textbooks.
On the other hand, township and borough residents said they've had enough with
the rising cost of education in the district.
But how do officials plan on avoiding a similar three-month back-and-forth next
year?
Schools Superintendent Diane DeGiacomo says look to the state. The way they fund
rural school districts is disproportionate to more urban districts, and she
believes the system needs change.
She also has another suggestion.
“Perhaps the public shouldn't be voting on it,” she said.
Buena Vista Mayor Chuck Chiarello said that would be a statewide legislative
decision and that “we've got to work with the system we have for now.”
Yet he did say that the municipalities will push for the state to review the
budget in case the district's budget is voted down again next year.
“We're not experts on this,” he said.
But the school district wasn't willing to take the gamble of having the state
suggest cuts, where local officials have no control over what stays and what
goes, DeGiacomo said.
Another issue, she said, is the state rule of only allowing districts to
increase budgets by 4 percent each year.
“Even before we present a budget, we're at a cap for the next year,” she said.
The cuts included at least five faculty members who are retiring from their
positions and could be replaced with people taking lower salaries, and a
$317,000 reduction in medical, dental and prescription plans.
Also factored in is nearly $221,000 in federal money, the same figure the
district received last year.
The problem, DeGiacomo said, is that these numbers could change.
“Right now, we'll probably get a portion of those federal funds,” she said.
Municipalities overall said this they're trying to keep the tax rate as
affordable as possible for residents.
“We can't take these double-digit increases much longer, though,” Buena Mayor
Joseph Baruffi said.
To e-mail Tom Namako at The Press:
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Buena trims tax increase
for schools 7/18/06
Buena
Regional budget cuts to be voted on Monday 7/13/06
BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — The beleaguered Buena Regional school budget could be
settled by Monday when the township and borough councils vote on nearly $853,000
in cuts.
It took the councils and school board about three months to reach that
recommended figure, beginning when voters turned down the school budget in
April.
The new budget was approved by the district's school board Tuesday night.
School taxes in Buena Vista Township could drop from 42 to 32 cents per $100 of
assessed value if approved, and taxes in the borough could drop from 35 to 25
cents.
The revised plan factors in at least five faculty members who are retiring from
their positions and could be replaced with people taking lower salaries, and
also a $317,000 reduction in medical, dental and prescription plans.
Both Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello and Buena Borough Mayor Joseph
Baruffi said they were upset with rumors that jobs and programs were being cut
from the school. Both said that simply wasn't true.
“In every budget version that we proposed, there weren't any of those cuts,”
Baruffi said.
The budget also factors in nearly $221,000 in federal money, the same figure the
district received last year.
But even if these figures are approved by the township and borough councils at a
meeting to take place Monday night, district Superintendent Diane DeGiacomo said
the numbers could still change.
“Different subject teachers have different salary demands,” she said, noting
that districts are only supposed to budget for 85% of federal money received
last year, not 100% as Buena Regional is doing.
When asked what would happen if several of these gambles didn't work out,
DeGiacomo said, “We'd have financial difficulties.” That could involve cutting
some educational materials from the classroom.
The township and borough councils recommended in May that the district cut more
than $1 million in budget items, a figure that DeGiacomo said her school board
couldn't accept.
Municipal officials then said the state Department of Education should look at
the situation, an idea that the school district wanted to avoid, since it would
lose control of what was cut.
“We felt it wasn't our jurisdiction to make any further cuts, so we suggested
going to the state,” Chiarello said. “But the district kept negotiating with
us.”
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Buena Vista, Buena to pass budget cuts 7/13/06
Buena Vista Township Committee and Buena Borough Council on Monday plan to
pass resolutions approving $852,000 in spending cuts to the Buena Regional
School District budget.
For complete details go to:
www.thedailyjournal.com
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Buena Regional towns
to weigh school cuts 7/12/06
A joint township meeting to review recommendations for cuts in the Buena
Regional School District budget will be held at 7 pm Monday, July 17.
For complete details go to:
www.thedailyjournal.com
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