What Keeps Us Up at Night

Presentation to HMS PTO Meeting March 8, 2012 – HMS Library Bob Shages, HTSD Board

What Keeps Us Up at Night

2011-2013 HTSD Board of School Directors

David Gurwin – President Mary Alice Hennessey – Vice President & Facilities Chair Pam Lamagna – Secretary & Educational Affairs Chair Bob Shages – Treasurer & Policy & Legislative Affairs Gail Litwiler – Personnel Chair Larry Vasko – Finance Chair Bryant Wesley – Student Affairs Chair Greg Stein – Technology Chair Denise Balason – Transportation Chair

Community volunteers elected to 4 year terms

HTSD Board

• Policy • Oversight • Approvals • Hiring • Budget & Taxes 3100 Students 350 employees $43.7M Budget

Superintendent Asst. Superintendent Business Manager

• Procedures to Implement Policy • Day-to-Day Operations • Staff & Student Performance • Planning PA Dept. of Education • Allegheny Intermediate Unit US Dept. of Education • Regulation and Partial Funding HTSD Central Administration • Finance & Admin.

• Student Services • Curriculum • Maintenance School Administration • HHS • HMS • Poff • Central • Wyland 208 Teachers - HTEA 74 Sec’ty/Paraprofessionals - HESPA 40 Custodial/Maintenance Staff - CMA 12 Food Service Staff - CEA

Facilities

• All building renovated and air conditioned • HHS fields will be completed this Spring • HHS kitchen to be revamped over 2 year period • Board looks at all grounds and facilities as a community asset • What will go next???

• PA PLANCON – 17 steps required for construction projects • PLANCON reimbursements have been suspended by PDE • Prevailing Wage Bill before House to help cut costs on smaller projects

Transportation

• $2,100,000 per year • 3100 HTSD students and 450 private/parochial/charter students • School – athletics – band – field trip bussing • • • All private/parochial/charter students within 10 miles of Hampton border are bussed by HTSD – share when possible with other Districts Per student cost ranges from $2,000 to >$40,000 per student Difficult balance of cost with convenience and expectations

HTEA Contract

• HTSD and HTEA have been in discussion for 6 months • Process regulated by Act 88 • More than salaries – benefits, work rules, common expectations • Contract up in June, 2012 • Stay tuned

Charter Schools & Cyber Charter Schools

• School District chartered, community initiated/run schools • Funded by School Districts @ 80% of “per pupil cost” – • range $6,000 to $16,000 HTSD is $9,500/ $17,500/year/student • Given mandate Relief in order to concentrate on innovation and sharing • 30 HTSD students in Charters (both types) • HTSD started new HTSD Curriculum-based distance learning initiative • • • • • • • • AYP is sketchy especially with Cyber’s (2 of 8 in 2011 met AYP) Many are run by for-profit companies (LRN is $750M company on NYSE) No real Cyber student accountability – are they there?

No real cost reduction to HTSD Cyber Funding is grossly unfair – no connection to cost Transportation adder can be more than the funding Innovation sharing is minor PA State Reimbursement eliminated in 2011-12 Budget

Vouchers

• Promoted as “school choice” • “Ticket out” for poverty-level children in the lowest 5% of Districts • Too many proposals and amendments over past year to count • Downsized version passed in Senate (SB1); failed in House – never voted on • Lots of for-profit lobbying money being passed around PA and other states • Most plans will not affect HTSD – but not right for educational reform • Plans that raise income limit and open vouchers to all students will affect HTSD • Districts must still maintain “readiness to serve” capabilities • Senate Finance Report said about 7% of eligible student will use it • No private school accountability for tax dollars • Big question on constitutionality of parochial school vouchers • Unresponsive to real needs of most challenging students and Districts • Will deplete public school funding at greater rate than any cost reductions

PA State Employees Retirement System

• Teaches retirement fund (as well as all state workers) • Defined Benefit Program for all teachers and state workers • Teachers pay % of salary; HTSD pays % of salary; PA pays % of salary • upgraded in 2001 by PA Legislature for higher payouts • Under-funded by BILLIONS – poor premise based on a never ending market run-up • 2010 – 5.64% 2011 - 8.85% 2012 – 12.36% 2013 – 16.75% 2019 – 28.04% • $110K actual HTSD cost increase per 1% increase in funding level (even after PA reimbursement) • HTSD has a $4.4M reserve fund to be spent over 10 years to temper increases (most Districts do not) • Approached Legislature for fixes but no viable solutions except extending amortization • Minor changes to PSERS Plan in 2011 for new teachers but will not help for 30 years

2012-13 PA State Budget

• “Largest amount of state funding in PA history” – Gov. Corbett • Will Districts get more or less? Yes, they will! • Statewide, increase is about ½ % for student oriented spending • Most of Corbett budget increase is targeted for PSERS reimbursements • $100M of Accountability Block Grants cut out • Student Achievement Education Block Grant combines 5 funding programs for “District flexibility in spending” but most are mandates • Poorer school districts are hurt more than HTSD because of higher state funding that is poverty related • This will play out for months • PSBA and PSEA are spending lots of energy trying to figure it all out for their organizations • Half-truths and incomplete statements will be made by both sides • Mandate relief would help but nothing actually proposed by Corbett Administration

Hampton Township School District 2012-13 State Budget Line items Per State Proposed Budget released February 7, 2012 Revenue Source Student Achievement Education Block Grant*

Basic Education Subsidy (incl ARRA in 10-11) Social Security Subsidy Cyber I Charter Reimbursement Subsidy Pupil Transportation Subsidy

PA Accountability Grant Total State Funding

Net increase to HTSD for 2012-13 $ Change from Previous Year Percent Change from Previous Year 2- Year $ Decrease 2- Year Percent Decrease

2012-13 State Proposed Budget 2011-12 State Final Budget 2010-11 State Final Budget

$ 6,300,493 $ 4,608,256 $ 840,793 $ 755,082 $ 88,849

$ 6,300,493

$ 7,513 0.12%

(518,546) -7.60% $ 6,292,980

$ (526,059)

-7.71%

$ 4,926,546 $ 839,163 $ 51,622 $ 775,565 $ 226,143

$ 6,819,039

2012-13 HTSD Budget

• Initial “preliminary budget is $43,707,000 – up 5.15% from 2011/12 • Funded with 74% local (60% real estate, 8% wage taxes); 24% State; 2% Federal • In 2011/12 lost $550,000 in PA funding; is up $96,362 for this year BUT - No Accountability Block Grant funding – • Over 3 yrs, AGB decreased from $226,000 - $88,000 - $0 • HTSD Budgeting is a bottoms-up, six month process that must be completed before state finishes their budget • Goal is to fund all programs at high-performance levels with no tax increase – more difficult each year

Assessments & Taxes

• Property assessments are an Allegheny County function, not local • On reassessment values, HTSD has to reset the millage rate so as not to receive a financial benefit (within 2%) – “revenue neutral” • HTSD is known as one of the most cost-effective Districts in SW PA • 2011-12 Tax rate = 21.35 mils • County Avg. is 23.66 - HTSD is 2.31 mils or 9.76% lower • 12 lowest of 41 Districts in Allegheny County • Act 1 limits tax increases to Index Limit - 2012-13 = 0.427 mils + exceptions - Or, we could have a referendum!

• 70% of Hampton taxpayers do not have school children • FYI – Allegheny County taxes just increased 20+%

So . . . What Keeps Us Up at Night ?

(our children, of course) •

Will our students reach their personal potential while at HTSD?

•

Will our children be personally successful when they leave HTSD?

Everything else is just working out the details

Addendum - What Else Keeps Us Up at Night ?

In addition to what was discussed, we also deal with: • Class size and balance between schools – monthly reports starting in January with bi-weekly reports by May • Tax base – is it growing at a level that can keep pace with inflation? Meetings with Hampton Township Council on how to grow it while maintaining the community character • Personnel issues – do we have the “best” people teaching our children and running our schools • Curriculum – are we using the best methods and scheduling the right classes that will challenge children at all levels and better prepare them for the future