Charleroi Area budget includes tax increase
The Charleroi Area School Board voted to post a tentative spending plan Tuesday which calls for an 8-mill tax hike. Board President Ken Wiltz promised more adjustments to the spending plan that would lower the funds needed to balance the budget.
Acting Superintendent Dr. Brad Ferko said some cuts have already been made, including the elimination of some staff positions through attrition, reduction in supplies and elimination of some courses that had been slated to begin in the fall.
The budget lists $16,542,297 in expenditures and includes an anticipated $1,215,961 fund balance from the current budget.
The board has until June 30 to approve a final 2004-05 budget.
An 8-mill tax hike would cost a taxpayer living in a home valued at $50,000 an additional $100 in real estate taxes.
Grad rate change approved
State education officials announced Tuesday that the federal government has approved lowering required student attendance rates to 90 percent and the graduation rate to 80 percent.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 benchmark set the goal for both criteria at 95 percent last year.
Schools under that mark were placed on the state's warning list. After two consecutive years of violation, the school districts must to show improvement plans and make transfers to better-performing schools possible for students. Continuing violations could lead to school closings, according to the legislation.
Since the enactment of No Child Left Behind, superintendents from more than 170 school districts have requested changes and signed a position paper this month asking Congress to adjust the legislation.
MMVTA facing route cuts
Skyrocketing gas prices, lower ridership and cuts in federal funds are forcing officials at the Mid-Mon Valley Transit Authority to shave off a few of their routes.
MMVTA Executive Director Nancy Basile Thursday announced a proposal to cut back Saturday trips from Charleroi to Pittsburgh and adjust a few local routes throughout the week.
The MMVTA contracts with 88 Transit for bus service, and drivers reported a few months ago that ridership on Saturdays to Pittsburgh was very low.
Basile's proposal calls for cutting back the Route A Saturday schedule from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with trips going out of Charleroi every other hour.
The routes currently run about every hour from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays back and forth from Pittsburgh.
Basile said rider surveys were conducted over the past several months, which led to their decision to make the changes.
She said there will also be adjustments to the Gold Line schedules on Mondays and Wednesdays going from California to the Rostraver Square shopping center.
The Monday routes will stay the same, but the Westmoreland/Fayette loop that is part of that route will be axed as part of the proposal. The loop includes the areas of Speers Hill, Fayette City, Belle Vernon, the Tri-County Plazas, Charleroi and Vista One.
Basile said federal funds were cut by $200,000 last year, and the route adjustments are needed to balance the budget.
Monessen school board OKs budget expenses
The Monessen School Board approved only the projected expenses in its tentative 2004-2005 budget Thursday, citing undetermined amounts of financial aid coming to the district from the state as the reason revenues were not shown.
The spending plan shows $12,171,923 in expenses.
Superintendent Dr. Alex Warren said employee health insurance costs, which are expected to increase by 50 percent, are the district's greatest financial concern. Business manager Rich Fantauzzi said the markup would be $385,000 in the next school year.
The board will vote to approve the final budget at its regular meeting June 29. The state's deadline for budget approval is June 30.
Ringgold school board eyes tax increase
Taxpayers in the Ringgold school district could face a tax hike for the third consecutive year.
The Ringgold School Board Thursday approved a $31.85 million tentative 2004-2005 budget that would require 8-mill property tax increase.
Under the preliminary plan, money generated by the tax increase would be used to purchase social studies books and to end the district's three-year money crunch.
A budget meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. June 14.
