School district expected to vote soon on 2012-13 budget
A new report by the PA Independent has ranked the Spring-Ford Area School District 37th in the state in terms of its uncommitted general fund balance, which stood at about $15.51 million last June 30, when the numbers were compiled.
Across Pennsylvania, the PA Independent estimates that school districts are sitting on about $3.2 billion in savings.
Declining property values have pinched school district finances across the country over the past few years. Even after expenses are cut, many districts are forced to choose between hiking property taxes and dipping into savings.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association advises districts to only dip into cash reserves for one-time expenditures. Pulling more than 10 percent out of savings in a single calendar year has the potential to impact a school district's creditworthiness, making it more expensive for a district to borrow money through bond issues and other measures.
About 70 percent of the state's 500 school districts are drawing on their general reserve funds in their preliminary budgets, according to the PA Independent.
The 2012-13 preliminary budget was released in early-December at an estimated $130 million. Between then and late-March, the school's finance committee was able to decrease that budget to about $126 million.
The district placed $3.7 million in 2007 bonds into a capital projects fund to be used on a list of items over the course of the next few years. That money ensured some money to be freed up from the school's general fund. The decision to do so was made in December.
The Spring-Ford Area School District's board of education will meet Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. at the high school, 350 S. Lewis Rd., Royersford. School board meetings are open to the public.
Bruce Bailey
1:33 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Personally, I distrust any source that is looking into public education, but begins its "Our People & Approach" web page with the words "Churchill Strategies exists to glorify God..." Churchill Strategies is the outfit behind this so-called "Independent" and even if their info is 100% accurate -- and I have no idea whether it is or not -- I highly suspect their motives. I'm sure that eventually they'll get around to advocating that public taxpayers foot the bill for private schools.
Stephen Eickhoff
1:39 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
Actually, Churchill Strategies just designs and hosts the PA Independent page. Also, the mission statement in context reads exactly, "We work for leaders and causes who embrace the radical ideas that life has intrinsic value, that human liberty is a gift from God and “the pursuit” enables acts of achievement and compassion." If I am not mistaken, that excerpt sounds inspired by our own Declaration of Independence. And even if they were a "Christian" organization, wouldn't they need to be connected to a private school to be biased? Make sure your opinions aren't poisoning the well.
Bruce Bailey
10:38 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
Oh good - so you actually know who's behind this mysterious "Independent" entity, Stephen? Please share with us. Who are they and where does their funding come from? Because the only responsible party that's listed on their website is Churchill Strategies, and its crystal clear where they're coming from and what their agenda is. This well was poisoned long before I ever came to it.
Mike Hays
11:28 am on Sunday, May 20, 2012
Bruce, I looked into the Independent a few months ago. They used to be funded by the Commonwealth Foundation, a libertarian think tank. However, I don't think they are very independent. When I called the phone listed on the Independent website, someone at the Commonwealth Foundation picked up and gave me the reporter's cell phone number. They have an agenda.
Stephen Eickhoff
1:12 pm on Tuesday, May 22, 2012
It they're truly libertarian (that is, classically liberal), then I would expect them to be a pretty unbiased watchdog when it comes to relative government expenditures. If anyone has data that conflicts with their figures, I'd love to hear about it. I don't even have a dog in this fight, not living in the district, but the high cost of education eventually affects everyone.
By "poisoning the well," I mean being immediately opposed to an argument because you don't like the source. Information and ideas should be judged on their accuracy and effectiveness, not their origin.
Huffington Post is also a biased source, but they are cited all the time: because the information contained within their articles is usually accurate, even if the conclusions aren't.