Palisades School District

Dec. 4, 2023 - Debt Service, Warehouse/Transportation, and Building Budgets:

*  The Act 1 Index for Palisades School District for the 2024-2025 budget year is 5.3%. This is the maximum increase allowable for the District without seeking exceptions. This index is set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

*  The Debt Service budget has decreased by $1,731,728 due to making a final bond payment in the current fiscal year. 

*  The Transportation budget has increased $119,834 due to an increase in the transportation contract which is tied to inflation but capped at 5% increase. 

*  The building level budget increased by $353,230. Although the District’s individual building budget has relatively stayed the same, there is an expected increase in charter and cyber charter school tuition.  The district is required to pay for those students who choose to attend outside charter schools (cyber or brick and mortar). Once again, the Board discussed the need for cyber charter school funding reform from the state legislature. The current rate paid to cyber charter schools is $24,016 for regular ed students and $53,878 for students who have IEP’s.  A flat rate of $9,500 for each student attending a charter school is the most recent amount proposed by state legislation (HB 1422).

December 20, 2023 - Equipment, Administration, Building Maintenance, Capital Projects, and Other Education:

*  The proposed equipment budget for the district includes student chairs, activity tables, and library shelves for Durham Nockamixon, The district-wide budget includes the purchase of (3) Violas at the elementary level, an Euphonium for the middle school, and window shades, chimes for the music department, pottery wheels, a portable generator for band and music performances and TV studio light upgrade to coincide with the upgrade of our high school tv video studio redo.

*  The administration budget had an increase of  21% or $143,360. The increase is due to the inclusion of a security company placeholder and the increase of insurance and legal fees. 

*  The Capital Projects budget includes an increase due to upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and upgrades to the high school TV Video studio.  Additional projects in the budget include: teacher laptop upgrades, server upgrades, interior lighting upgrades, tile replacement in several buildings, and air conditioning district-wide. All Capital Projects are paid for from fund balance (district savings account) and do not add to the taxpayers’ annual property tax bill. The Capital Projects budget includes those requested items for the upcoming school year, however, the final budget will include only those requests that are actually approved as we move through the budgeting process.

January 17, 2024 - Educational Support, Comprehensive Plan, Salaries, Benefits, and Revenue:

*  Technology requests in the 2024-2025 budget include replacement of a computer lab at the high school and cyber security upgrades to protect the District.

*  The grant budget will remain the same.  A one-time usage of stimulus funds from the federal government is planned for the Spring. These funds are projected to be used this year to improve air flow in our buildings and support our server system should there be power outages. 

*  The Special Education budget increased $1,042,000 due to an increase in professional services for students with special needs. 

*  A salary increase of 4.3% is budgeted for contractual increases for our teaching staff, support staff and administrators. Included in this line item is the cost for our day to day substitutes through our service provider, ESS, which is budgeted at $210,000.

*  The budget includes a benefit increase of $2,023,000 due to a projected increase in health insurance of 20%.  The “final look” is anticipated to be released in time for the Final Proposed Budget presentation in April (providing a more realistic estimate).

*  Revenues are projected to increase by 1.65% (conservative projection). This is an overall general increase until the State budget is proposed in the Spring. There is a possibility that Palisades could see an increase of $48,000 in Basic Education Funding for the 2024-25 budget.

In Summary,

*  The School Board passed the Resolution not to exceed the Act 1 Index of 5.3% for the 2024-2025 school year.  

*  The budget presented so far is the “worst case scenario” as it relates to projected school spending and revenues for the 2024-2025 school year. 

*  By passing the resolution at the December 20, 2023 School Board Meeting, the Board has limited the tax increase for the 2024-2025 school year to 5.3%. There has been no determination what the tax increase will be by the time the Final Budget is approved in June, however, an increase for the 2024-2025 school year cannot exceed 5.3% (our district’s Act 1 index as specified by the PA Department of Education).

*  A maximum 5.3% increase would mean a “worst case increase” of $213 for the average assessed household in the District. 

However, there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done on this budget by the School Board and Administration between now and when the final budget is passed in June.  We will continue to do our best to minimize our projected costs while balancing our ability to provide the best possible education for all of our students. The final budget with modifications will be presented on June 5, 2024.