Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board directors are heading into the final turn in developing a budget for the 2015-2016 academic year. While there’s an eye on reining in expenses, tax rates could still increase.

School Superintendent John Sanville and Business Manager Bob Cochran gave the directors a rundown on the proposed final budget during a poorly attended May 4 hearing. The only member of the general public to attend the session was Beverly Brookes, a candidate for school board director.

The proposed final budget will be tweaked until the board votes on a spending plan in June. However, the board must first approve the proposed final budget during its May 11 work session.

As currently proposed, the budget calls for $79.2 million in spending and revenue, but with tax increases of 2.65 percent for Chester County residents and 3.69 percent for residents in Chadds Ford, the only Delaware County municipality in the district. The weighted average, according to Cochran, is an increase of 2.85 percent.

Chester County millage would be 27.14 mills; Delaware County millage would be 23.02 mills. Current millage rates are 26.44 in Chester County, and 22.20 for Delaware County residents. A mill is a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

The difference in millage rates is based on the differences in how the counties assess property, Cochran said. His presentation included a graphic showing the proposed tax rate would result in an increase of $184.81 per year for the average homeowner in Chester County and $212.81 per year for the average Chadds Ford homeowner.

On the revenue side of the equation, local taxes account for 84.5 percent of the district’s income, with state and federal monies making up the remainder.

On the expense side, the largest cost is for personnel. Salaries and benefits, including PSERS, the Public School Employees Retirement System, represent 71.29 percent of spending. Debt service makes up another 10.49 percent.

Included in the presentation were other graphics showing that all salary classifications — administration, teachers and support staff — have had salary increases and salary freezes during the past six years. Teacher increases were the largest at 3 percent, support staff the lowest at 1.77 percent. Salary increases for the administration came to 1.97 percent.

There are various scenarios for the board to consider that would impact the level of taxation. Scenario one is the one proposed.

Another scenario, favored by Director Keith Knauss, would include spending some of the current fund balance so that the weighted average tax increase would be 1.9 percent.

However, Director Michael Rock said spending the fund balance — money not spent during previous years — would be a mistake “because we never know when we might be hit with something.”

He added, “To be competitive, salaries for teachers have to go up; salaries for everybody has to go up…If that’s true, then what we need to condition our taxpayers for, is increases in taxes that make it possible for us to build steady increases inn taxes that make it possible for us to sustain the high quality program we have.”

Some of the expenditures would be on new initiatives that weren’t detailed in the presentation. Board President Vic Dupuis said he wants to see those listed so the public can know how new expenses are to be used.

Directors Carolyn Daniels and Kathy Do agreed with Dupuis. Cochran said that information could be included for the May 11 meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m., in the district office.

(Graphics are from the May 4 budget hearing presentation. The entire presentation can be found here). 

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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