FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY A PRIORITY
A
ssembling a budget is one of the most
time-consuming and detailed tasks a school
district administration and school board
undertake each year. It’s no different for the
Fox Chapel Area School District.
According to Kimberly Pawlishak, the district’s business
manager, Fox Chapel Area takes a conservative approach in
crafting each spending plan. For the 2018-2019 school year,
the district took a number of steps to cut costs, including
offering an early retirement incentive to professional staff
members.
“We have a number of top-earning teachers that are retiring
over the next two years, making way to either save by attrition
or by hiring new teachers that will earn a lower starting wage,”
Ms. Pawlishak said.
Coming up with a preliminary budget isn’t a task that Ms.
Pawlishak undertakes alone.
“The district utilizes an advisory group made up of
community members, School Board representatives,
administrators, and a member of the Fox Chapel Educators
Association to go over the budget and discuss millage prior to
the budget itself going in front of the full School Board for
approval,” she said.
A member of that group is School Board Vice President
Nancy Foster, who brings an extensive background in finance
to the budget process. Mrs. Foster, a longtime district resident,
graduated with a degree in economics from Duke University
and worked in the insurance industry for nearly 20 years
before taking a job with Guyasuta Investment Advisors in
O’Hara Township. She currently serves as its president and
chief operating officer, and is also a partner.
Fox Chapel Area School Board members Nancy Foster and Lisa Rutkowski
greeted students during a recent School Board meeting.
“We need to be very sensitive to those
taxpayers who are on a fixed income. We
also have to keep in mind that we are a very
economically diverse community.”
– Nancy Foster, School Board Vice President
With her financial acumen, Mrs. Foster helps to ensure the
district is able to cover its liabilities and successfully helps the
administration and the Resource Planning Committee navigate
the lending environment, such as the issuing of bonds.
The conservative financial approach advocated by Mrs. Foster
helps the district handle unanticipated expenditures, such as
the cost of the Kerr Elementary mold remediation, which was
more than $300,000.
“That’s why you have a rainy-day fund,” Mrs. Foster said.
“Every year, there is going to be some kind of unexpected
expense.”
Another budget constraint that has affected all school
districts in the state is the contributions to the Public School
Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS). Each year, that cost
has risen, and, in 2018-2019 alone, Fox Chapel Area budgeted
$15,281,092 that it must contribute to PSERS. The PSERS
trustees determine the contribution rate increase annually.
“We have no say as a district over that expense,” Mrs. Foster
said. “It’s the elephant in the room.”
Mrs. Foster also emphasized that being a responsible steward
of the district’s money means keeping in mind that 80 percent
of the district’s tax base does not have children who attend the
district’s schools.
Mrs. Foster talked with Fox Chapel Borough Police Chief David Laux
during a school district safety meeting.
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FOX CHAPEL AREA
“We need to be very sensitive to those taxpayers who are on a
fixed income,” Mrs. Foster said. “We also have to keep in mind
that we are a very economically diverse community.”