2016-17 Budget
REVENUES EXPENDITURES
State - 21.57 %
Federal - . 51 %
Local - 77.92 % Salaries - 42.86 %
Benefits - 26.02 %
Other 2.43 %
Debt Service 9.11 %
Guaranteed Energy Savings Act . 62 %
Repairs , Maintenance , Transportation & Utilities 14.41 %
Fixtures , Furniture & Equipment 4.55 %
PV Places Focus on Student Learning Through Budget Planning
Perkiomen Valley School District has been consistent year after year in passing budgets that keep the focus on instructional spending without raising taxes above the state-mandated index , and the 2016-17 budget year was no exception .
The $ 99,988,817 spending plan included additional staff to address student needs . A full-time special education teacher , a full-time math teacher at the middle level , and a part-time Spanish teacher ( to address student requests for Spanish at the high school ) were all added in the 2016-17 budget to support instruction .
Despite adding personnel , the School Board was able to pass a budget with a tax increase that was below the state-mandated index of 2.8 percent . The 2016-17 tax increase was 2.37 percent , resulting in an annual tax increase of approximately $ 131 for a homeowner with an average assessment of $ 180,000 .
The School Board and administration work hard each year to balance the budget but state mandates like the required employer contributions to the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System ( PSERS ) make that task difficult . The PSERS contribution rate increased from 25.84 to 30.03 percent in the 2016-17 school year – an approximate $ 1.7 million add to the budget over which the district has no control . the wise use of savings from bond refundings , and continuing efforts to evaluate staff needs . Overall , expenditures for 2016- 17 increased 2.13 percent over the previous year ’ s budget .
Revenues increased slightly by . 925 percent , thanks to growth of the real estate tax assessment base and increases for earned income tax .
The Board took several actions prior to the passage of the 2016-17 budget in an effort to make prudent use of “ onetime ” funds that were acquired through a bond refunding , through the sale of the Trappe Building , and a Ready-to-Learn grant from the state .
The January 2016 refunding is estimated to save the district about $ 5.6 million over the next 15 years . A portion of the savings ($ 840,278 ) was used to reduce debt service payments in 2016-17 . The Board recommended that an additional portion of the savings be used for future capital projects , such as the replacement of the high school roof , the renovation of the high school pool , and technology upgrades . These projects were carried out in the summer of 2017 . Funding from the Trappe building sale was also reserved for capital project needs . The Ready-to-Learn grant was used to fund the purchase of textbooks .
To mitigate the effects of such a dramatic increase , the district took a number of steps to control other expenditures through negotiations on vendor contracts , energy-saving initiatives ,
The district is required by law to pass a budget each year by June 30 . For more information about the budget , please visit www . pvsd . org , and select “ Business ” from the “ Departments ” tab .
14 * PVSD Annual Report 2016-17 Follow Us on Facebook , Twitter & YouTube