Mt. Pleasant Area school directors voted Monday to have administrators author a resolution that would urge state lawmakers to act quickly on property tax relief for Pennsylvania residents.
Board President Thomas Miscik proposed the action because of what he called "political gamesmanship going on lately with the state budget."
Promises made during the last election campaign to address the issue within days of Gov. Ed Rendell's inauguration and the new legislative session have gone unfulfilled, Miscik said, and he is concerned nothing will change.
"The loser in the long run is the taxpayer," Miscik said. "We're going to be in the position of paying for unfunded mandates, and included in that is 'No Child Left Behind.'"
Referring to President Bush's education initiative, Miscik pointed out that while it will cost school districts $500 per student to implement the plan, only $75 per student in federal funds has been appropriated.
Miscik calculated the Bush initiative could cost Mt. Pleasant Area School District taxpayers $1.3 million unless more state or federal funding is forthcoming, he said.
After the board voted on the new resolution, Director Robert Gumbita pointed out the issue of unfunded mandates doesn't stop with the Bush program.
Gumbita, the board's representative to the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit, noted that according to IU figures, districts spend an average of $8,234 on educating each "regular" student, while the cost for a special education student is $17,934, only 61 percent of which is funded by the state.
"The local impact is 6.84 mills," Gumbita said, and the veteran director didn't stop there.
On the issue of school security in case of a terrorist strike, Gumbita said, "There's been very little guidance from the federal government so far."
Gumbita indicated he also considers the federal allocation for school security, under the Office of Homeland Security, to be a joke.
While the federal government has set aside $30 million for school security, Gumbita pointed out there are 16,000 school districts in the United States and 91,000 schools. That, Gumbita calculated, works out to about $300 per school.
"After administrative costs and training, you might have enough left over to buy some plastic and about a dozen rolls of duct tape," Gumbita said.
Despite the funding shortfall, however, Superintendent Dr. Donald Tylinski told the board the district has begun to look at the issue of security.
"We're moving toward an all-district plan," Tylinski said, noting he expects to meet next week with Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency officials.
The district will be looking at emergency power, food and water supplies and where to take the students in the case of a terrorist attack, Tylinski said.
"We have to be prepared in terms of bus rosters and class rosters," Tylinski said. "But I believe, as a parent, many will want their children at home."
In response to Tylinski's comments, Gumbita said, "I'm glad we're taking a proactive approach and not waiting for our famous (former) Gov. Ridge to come through."
