The Numbers Don't Match
Dr. Warren Moser, the acting business manager made a revised budget presentation to the school board and to the overflow audience of concerned taxpayers on March 21,2006.
He presented a lower set of figures for the 2006 budget than was presented to the board on February 27,2006.
The new budget for 2006 will be $25,596,702. This is an increase of $2,046,644 over the 2005 budget of $23,550,058 that was sent to the state by the district.
Dr. Moser says the millage increase necessary to pay for the 2006 spending is 2.18 mills.
The problem arises when you divide the revenue generated by a mill of taxes or $677,000 into the $2,046,644 increase. The millage calculates to 3.023 mills not the 2.18 mills advertised.
Whether the millage is 3.023 or 2.18 mills, either is excessive.
Adding to the confusion in the presentation was the format change from February 27,2006 meeting.
Significant expense figures either were deleted or added and thereby created confusion for the audience to compare previous information.
Dr. Moser wants to transfer $53,975 from the Cafeteria Fund to the General Fund.
The Cafeteria Fund is showing loses. This accounting maneuver would have the Cafeteria Fund showing a profit.
Transferring expenses to the General Fund has the effect of increasing taxes.
The board was asked to consider having a private firm run the cafeteria to save money. The suggestion just to look at a proposal was flatly rejected with no real explanation.
Last, but not least, is that the figures presented at the March 21,2006 meeting did not cover the cost of the proposed $1,400,000 track.
Based on the new spending increases and the cost of the track, the possible millage increase is 5.64 mills!
The property owner currently paying school property taxes of $2,150 per $100,000 assessed value could be paying $2,714 per $100,000 of assessed value.
We cannot afford these increases. We need to let the board hear our voices.
8 Comments:
The more than simple explanation may be that the 2006 budget is nowhere near being finalized. It is not at all uncommon that the budget costs be different at every meeting. This has been explained multiple times, and these changes will continue as usual.
End of Story.
"The more than simple explanation may be that the 2006 budget is nowhere near being finalized."
This is true...up to a point.
School boards like to test the waters with initial budget numbers.
When there is no reaction, they proceed. When there is a response like that in our district, they must take stock.
Taxpayers are lectured by the board for arriving in June to comment about the budget.
When we arrive in March, we chastised for being too early.
When is a good time to comment on the budget without being attacked?
"It is not at all uncommon that the budget costs be different at every meeting."
This is true...up to a point.
The Oley School District does a disservice to the community when they change the format of the presentation so that it is difficult for the average person to follow the budget numbers from one presentation to the next.
This practice can be perceived as an attempt to hide and confuse rather than disclose public information.
"This has been explained multiple times, and these changes will continue as usual."
"Like it or lump it" responses do not garner support or unity in the community.
"End of Story."
This is called stone-walling. The taxpayers heard that at the Budget and Finance Meeting, March 21,2006.
The Oley Valley School Board loves to see the taxpayers get confused over the budget. They move monies from one column to another. Then they tell the public that they do not have money when they really do they just hide it within different topics and columns. This is most likely the reason we keep losing Business Managers. They finally can't take the lies and mismanagement of the monies. One day soon the truth will come out. You do not look out for the people who pay the bills and for that matter the children either. If this was a manufacturing company you would be all fired. Because companies what to see a final product.
To use the manufacturing analogy, if Oley School Dist did manufacture a poor product, had a bad financial year, scores were down, discipline problems on rise, etc. You would not get rid of the board of directors, you would replace the CEO / superintendant.
The Oley school board should look long and hard at the real results Jeff Zackon has delivered in his tenure. The school board follows his lead. How about a new young professional administrator?
THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. BUT WE DO NEED A NEW BOARD BESIDES A NEW SUPER!!!
What is really needed is a new superintendant & new board president. Heckman, Richards and Cappa need to go. The rest are workable, but these remaining 6 need to get organized and put the pressure on Heckman & Zackon.
Has anyone ever had a good feeling about Cappa?
The feelings we all have about Cappa is his own doing. Just watch him in action, you will see what we mean.
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