The Bristol Township School District is working to fill a $2.7 million gap in their 2015-2016 school year budget.
The proposed budget currently includes $129,417,256 million in revenues and $132,127,348 million in expenditures, according to documents and district officials.
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Administrators will be reviewing costs and make cuts where possible before the budget must be approved. State law requires districts to pass a balanced budget by June 30, officials said.
Business manager John Steffy said his budget plan does not factor in Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed state budget, which will likely be altered by lawmakers before it is approved.
At a Wednesday night budget meeting, district officials reviewed how Wolf’s proposed budget would provide more than $2.3 million in state funding, which was roughly $24 million in the 2014-2015 budget.
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Steffy said Wolf’s proposal was better than ones previously passed during former Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration.
“What Gov. Wolf is proposing is good for our kids,” Superintendent Dr. Sam Lee said.
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Steffy said the district has about $1.5 million in reserves. Reserve funding has been used over the past several budget cycles to fill gaps.
Along with increased labor and pension costs, the district will have to pay roughly $2.5 million more in debt service due to the construction of new elementary schools. Officials said previously that about $1 million per year will be saved once nine aging elementary schools are consolidated into three new, “state-of-the-art” buildings.
The new schools under construction at the James Buchanan and Ralph Waldo Emerson elementary school sites are behind schedule, officials have said. Steffy said the district did not budget for any costs that could come if the two new schools don’t open in time for September. A new school at the Mary Devine Elementary School site in Croydon is expected to open in September 2016.
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Steffy said the district does have some wiggle room, as that school system has room for $10 million in additional debt service.
Over the next few months, the district will be checking over several costs, including extracurricular programs, to see where money can be saved, school board Vice President Earl Bruck said. Despite rumors, no programs are currently on the chopping block, he said.
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Compared to previous years, the budget gap is small. Several years back, the district had a gap that was about $14 million. The district also made staff cuts in previous budget. Lee said that no staff cuts are currently proposed.
