The Lowdown

Indicative of the larger public budget crunch to come, hard choices will be made this year by your local school district officials and board members.

A story on A3 of today’s Patriot-News spurred some deeper thought this morning as I enjoyed a fantastic – if I do say so myself – roasted tomato and onion omelet with cheese.  Written by Monica Von Dobeneck, the article dips a toe into the question of whether scholastic athletes or their families should pay for the privilege of competing on school teams:

“Pay-to-play – which makes students pay a fee to participate in extracurricular activities – comes up often when school districts are struggling with their budgets. But it’s generally unpopular with parents, and for that reason, not many area schools have implemented the plan.

It came up again at Thursday’s West Shore School Board study session, when school directors asked the administration to come up with solutions to fill a multimillion dollar budget gap….”

Having had a hand in approving municipal budgets for the last four years, I started to wonder just how much of the West Shore School District’s (WSSD) budget is devoted to athletics.  If we’re going to make Jimmy and Jane pay to suit up for Cedar Cliff and Red Land, it might be good to know how much of the district’s expenses are devoted to their uniforms, athletic fields, etc.

After a quick search, I wound up on the WSSD’s page devoted to information about its board of directors.  Displayed prominently in the left sidebar are several sub-pages devoted to past, present and future budgets.

The answers are out there.  All you have to do is look.

• Introduction to the General Fund Expenditure Budget, presented 3/4/10
• Real Estate Tax Structure Materials, presented 3/18/10
• Revenue Budget, presented, 4/8/10
• Budget Update, presented 4/8/10

The documents presented for next year’s budget delve into how the budget is crafted, as well as what many of the budget categories comprise.  They provide a glimpse into the coming budget crunch; a glimpse likely not for the faint of heart.

According to the Budget Update Fund Balance Analysis in the budget update provided on April 8, WSSD faces a possible $3,076,182 shortfall at the end of the current fiscal year.  That shortfall would reduce the fund balance available at the beginning of the next fiscal year to $5,470,578, or less than 6% of projected expenses for the 2010-11 budget, a budget which may be crafted with a projected deficit from $2.8M to $4.2M.

In other words, the WSSD piggy bank – another way to think of its fund balance – could be almost empty even before the 2012 pension crunch comes crashing through its door.  If that happens, paying to play is not going to be the only issue school funding issue worrying WSSD residents.

As far as my initial question regarding the proportion of the budget devoted to athletic activities, well, that isn’t real clear from the budget documents.  The percentage may by something less than 1.26% if all athletic activities are contained in budget category 3200 (Student Activities), but they likely aren’t.  I’ll ask a question of a friend next week and see if I can get an answer.

One thing which is clear, though, is the major cost driver in the budget; personnel expenses.  No surprise there.

But when you look deeper at the first budget file and you drill down to page 15, you get the real breakdown, the one the state legislature has been loathe to address.

When comparing WSSD’s 2009-10 budget to the proposed 2010-11 budget, salaries are only projected to increase by 1.67%.  While they comprise 56% of the budget, their change from one year to the next is in line with what you’d expect to see.

Look four lines further down, though, and you get to the heart of the matter.

Retirement expenses are projected to increase by 46.40%, or $1.4M, from this year to the next.  And that’s just the beginning.  Things really start to get interesting next year.

With revenues projected to fall by almost $330,000, do not expect tax rates to remain static unless somebody gets real in Harrisburg and solves this mess.  The coming public pension tsunami will wash up on every shore, and the damage it wreaks to your wallet will be tangible.

But it doesn’t have to happen.  While remedies have been proposed, no action has been taken.

When asked about the pension crisis recently, I opined that nothing is likely to be done until the eleventh hour so an as yet to be identified politico can claim white knight status.  Is that too pessimistic an outlook, or do you think somebody in the PA Legislature may find the fortitude to act during an election year?

Sound off in the comments, or tweet me your opinion.

Regardless, I hope The Patriot-News’ decides to stop focusing on the sizzle of the WSSD budget process – kids paying to play – at the expense of examining the steak.  The more light it shines on the pension crisis, the more likely something positive will happen.

Leave the kids alone.  Focus on the fat cats instead.

To my mind, it’s time for a little tried and true afflicting of the comfortable.