School Board Approves Budget Proposal for 2012-13 School Year

The approved a $41.398 million proposed final budget for the 2012-13 school year that would include a .55 mill tax increase if approved.

Superintendent Joseph Clapper cautioned the and that additional cuts are expected between now and June 19, when the board plans to vote at 7 p.m. on a final spending plan.

“Nothing’s final until it’s final, and that’s in June,” said Clapper, who presented the budget Tuesday night.

At .55 mills, a property owner with a home assessed at $156,000—the median value of a district home—would pay $85.80 more in taxes each year, an increase of about $7.15 per month. The increase would result in a real estate tax rate of 21.50 mills, generating $741,198 in additional revenue for the district to cover the budget gap.

Clapper said most of the costs in the budget are related to people. Salaries make up 46 percent of the proposed budget and a $741,198 shortfall is largely attributed to the 44.47 percent increase in mandated contributions the district must pay to the Public School Employees' Retirement System. Quaker Valley’s retirement costs are $725,846, a figure that Clapper said will likely increase with each budget year.

John Sheline, director of finance and operations, said the district does funds set aside in a rainy day retirement account, but he said the funds should be used gradually to "ease the pain" of rising costs each year.

“You never want to fund the whole thing,” Sheline said.

The proposed spending plan represents a 3.81 percent increase over the current year’s budget, but Clapper said there is still a lot of work to do.

“We’ve done a lot of cutting and there is more to go,” Clapper said. 

Largest Expenses for 2012-13

up 44.4 7%,

or $725, 846

Tutition (Parkway West, alternative education, cyber and charter schools)