The North Penn School District (NPSD) Board of School Directors approved a $273,977,289 final budget for the 2019-2020 school year at its action meeting Thursday night. The budget includes a tax increase of 2.3 percent, equating to a $87 increase for the average NPSD homeowner. The NPSD tax rate is one of the lowest rates in the county.
“Developing a budget that meets the needs of everyone from students to taxpayers to staff is never easy, but I think the school board has once again approved a budget that is fair to everyone,” said Dr. Curtis R. Dietrich, superintendent, NPSD. “Every year is a challenge as we need to ensure the financial stability of not only that year’s budget, but for many years to come as we face funding challenges such as aging buildings and needed renovations.”
The tax increase is the base Act 1 index permitted by the state. The 2019-2020 budget is a 5.28 percent increase from the current year’s budget. Factors impacting this increased budget include employee contracts, rising special education costs, Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) obligations and funds to further support the behavioral and mental needs of NPSD students.
More than $3 million in new funds is also budgeted for NPSD’s full-day kindergarten which begins in September. Costs associated with full-day kindergarten include additional staff members and the funding of needed materials, furniture, equipment and facility-related costs.
“As a school board we could not be prouder or more excited about finally offering full-day kindergarten to this community,” said Tina Stoll, president, NPSD Board of School Directors. “District staff have worked tirelessly since the program was board approved last September to develop a program that I know will be the new standard of excellence in this county and beyond.”
Even with the tax increase, there remains a budget deficit of $6.77 million. Due to prudent budgeting, wise investing and continuing efforts to raise revenues and decrease costs, NPSD is in a position to use reserves to offset the deficit. Every effort was also made to fund district needs through grants. Specifically, upgrading NPSD’s transportation fleet to propane busses and improved security measures are all being funded through competitive grants thanks to the hard work of staff members applying for these sought after dollars.
NPSD is known throughout the state as an example of excellence when it comes to budget preparation. For the fourth year in a row, the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International awarded NPSD with its Meritorious Budget Award (MBA) for excellence in budget presentation. The MBA program promotes and recognizes excellence in school budget presentation and enhances school business officials' skills in developing, analyzing and presenting a school system budget.
“It is always the district’s goal to develop a budget in an informative and transparent way with input from all of those whom it impacts,” said Steve Skrocki, chief financial officer, NPSD. “It is equally important to provide tax relief when possible and want to remind the community of the district’s tax relief program which is in its second year.”
Information about the NPSD Real Estate Tax Rebate Program can be found at www.npenn.org/taxrebate.
See also:
Local Man With Autism Wins Pennbrook Award
North Penn Build-A-Bag Backpack and School Supply Drive Now Underway
PHOTOS: North Penn Class of 2019 Graduation
PHOTOS: North Penn Grads Visit Their Elementary Schools
NPHS Students Advance to National Future Business Leaders Competition
