Upper St. Clair Budget passes with job cuts, sports fees

The Upper St. Clair School Board passed the district's budget for the 2011-12 school year on Wednesday morning.

The budget was balanced through job cuts, a 0.33-mill tax increase, new fees for sports teams and a withdrawal from the district's cash reserves, officials said.

The $59.4 million spending plan passed 8-0, with Barbara Bolas absent. The budget includes cutting or suspending 10 positions, said Superintendent Patrick O'Toole. Participants in middle- and high-school sports teams will have to pay a yearly fee, ranging from $25 to $100 depending on the sport, he said.

A remaining deficit of about $143,000 will be covered from the district's $3.9 million in reserves. O'Toole said the district is projecting even deeper deficits next year.

The owner of a home assessed at the township average of $200,000 will pay $4,820 in taxes.