Board trims $2 million from proposed budget

Christian Menno's summary of last night's Board meeting . . .

NESHAMINY SCHOOLS - But Gov. Corbett's budget could cut even more in state funding for the district.

What started as a projected $11.2 million deficit in the Neshaminy School District's 2011-12 preliminary budget is now at about $9 million.

At Tuesday's school board work session, business manager Barbara Markowitz said that review of numerous line items and certain cuts has allowed officials to trim the deficit by about $2 million.

The district is required by the state to submit a balanced budget by June, she added.

Talk then shifted to Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget for the state that was unveiled Tuesday and calls for about $550 million in cuts to the Education Department.

According to Markowitz, Neshaminy's share of state funding will see about a $1.2 million decrease from the current school year.

Board President Ritchie Webb said this equates to about a 9.5 percent reduction.

District officials said they anticipated these cuts and budgeted accordingly. Neshaminy expects to receive a little more than $12 million from the state, which is comparable to the funding level of the 2008-09 school year.

Superintendent Lou Muenker said officials will have to "make some prudent decisions" as the budget process moves toward the June deadline.

"(The cuts from the governor) were not a surprise but are definitely a disappointment," Muenker said, adding that Corbett's budget has not been finalized and changes could still be made. "We need to move forward with the anticipation that those monies will not be there. But if something happens (with the governor's plan) and we get additional money then that will be a bonus."

Corbett's proposed budget, Webb said, would also eliminate the partial reimbursements from the state to school districts that allow charter schools to operate within their boundaries.

"Under this proposal we would not get anything back," he added.

The majority of the board last month denied an application from School Lane Charter School-Neshaminy for a K-12 school in Neshaminy. The refusal to grant a charter cannot be based on financial concerns, according to state law. The board pointed to what some saw as a lack of community support as a major factor in issuing the denial.

Officials from School Lane Charter School said Monday that they plan to resubmit an application to the board by the end of the month.

Christian Menno can be reached at 215-269-5081 or cmenno@phillyBurbs.com Follow Christian on Twitter at Twitter.com/cmenno_courier

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