Riverview Preparing Preliminary Budget For February

Riverview School District likely will vote on a preliminary budget for the 2011-12 school year in February.

School board members agreed at Monday's study session to make a preliminary budget available before the state's deadline — otherwise the district could wait but would have to agree not to raise taxes above the state's index under Pennsylvania's Act 1.

District officials still don't know how much money the district will receive from the state — a sentiment shared among other districts in the area, business manager Frank Thompson said.

"It might not come close to last year," Thompson said.

"There is no definite number or even an estimate of what it will end up being," he said.

When governor-elect Tom Corbett takes office, he will have an extra 30 days to prepare the state's education budget, Superintendent Charles Erdeljac said.

The district likely will receive word of how much money to expect on March 18 at the earliest, as opposed to the usual February date, he said.

"It's hard to do the budget because we don't know what the funding from the state is going to be," Thompson said.

It's early in the budget process, and there are too many factors that can change the budget dramatically, he said.

Kindergarten enrollment could increase, more teachers than expected could retire, and more students could sign up for cyber-charter school, which the district must pay for, Thompson said.

New families often move to Oakmont and Verona during the summer months, and if one of those students requires transportation to a special school within 10 miles of the school district, Riverview must pay for it, he said.

Alternately, transportation costs will likely change with the closing of the Catholic, all-girls Mt. Alvernia High School in Millvale, Thompson said.

The district currently has two students who attend the school.

Riverview also pays $6,000 per student who attends Forbes Road Career and Technology Center, Thompson said, and an increase or decrease in enrollment will have a significant impact on available money.

As of now, there could be two fewer students attending Forbes in the 2011-12 school year, Thompson said.

The school board is trying to prepare a tight budget, Erdeljac said.

"We're prepared to talk about where we can be even more frugal in the budget," he said.

The school board must pass a final budget by June 30.

Six of nine school board members attended the meeting and agreed to prepare a preliminary budget for February. Attendees included vice president Arlene Loeffler, John Hackworth, Heidi Dolan, David Kadylak, Joseph DiMario and Dean Hornsby.

The projected date for voting on the preliminary budget is Monday, Feb. 14 but is subject to change.

The district must give 10 days' notice to the public under the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act before voting.