Compromise school budget approved

WESTFALL - With a unanimous vote on Tuesday evening, the Delaware Valley school board approved the 2006-2007 budget, all $62,914,851 of it. The budget calls for a tax increase of 4.99 percent. In the original proposal, the district’s expenditures increased about 10 percent. A compromise spending plan produced three principal spending cuts. The first reduced the transfer to capitol reserve, the second reduced funding in an account for an internal reserve which funds retirements. The third cut was the number of hours of education offered to homebound students, which decreased from ten to the state mandate of five hours. These cuts, totalled about $464,000, which reduced the new spending increase to 6.33 percent. Jack Fisher’s finance committee has held meetings two to three times a month since December and worked on the budget section by section. “The elephant was eaten in little bits,” school board President Sue Casey commented. In other business, the board also agreed to incur up to $30 million of indebtedness. Money would fund the remainder of the estimated $60 million predicted in 2004 facilities study. None of the $60 million authorized has been spent. Business Manager Bill Hessling said actual borrowing would require a separate authorization. The timing of the decision to incur the debt, creates an exception to limitations on school district spending which the state legislature’s proposed School Tax Relief Act would create.