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Why citizens should serve on the Keystone school task force

Do you have concerns about the Keystone Central School District’s programming and spending?

Are there investments the district is making you don’t agree with?

Conversely, are there programs you value and want to preserve?

Do you want to learn just how much power the state and federal governments have when it comes to public education?

And the central question: Do you care about our children’s education, and the quality of our schools?

The answers to all of these questions and more are why citizens should step up to participate as a volunteer in the Keystone Central School District’s 2018/2019 Program Planning Task Force.

We join the district in wanting to inspire you to dedicate your time and expertise by getting involved. Bring your ideas, your passion and, importantly, be prepared to put yourselves in the shoes of school staff to understand the challenges facing public education.

Plain and simple: “The superintendent, school board and administration want input from all district stakeholders about the 2018-2019 budget. The overall goal of this task force is to identify at least $10 million or 13 percent of the overall budget, in sustainable savings and/or revenue.”

Finding $10 million in “sustainable savings” will be a monumental task, evidence by the fact that the Task Force will consist of seven subcommittees broken down into:

r Athletics/Extra Curricular Activities.

r Career and Technology Programming.

r Elementary Programming.

r Operational Management.

r Property Services/Security.

r Secondary Programming.

r Technology Initiatives.

Be assured, this initiative is not just about finding ways to cut costs and reduce the tax burden; it is importantly about educating citizens on what we’ll call the regulatory hold the state and federal governments have on our public schools.

They’re called mandates … mandates that come with the millions of dollars in education subsidies both the Pennsylvania and U.S. Departments of Education provide to Keystone.

Within the district’s currently proposed, $71,316,719 revenue budget (not expense budget) for 2017-2018, state sources account for $37,786,881 million, and federal sources, $1,293,731 million.

Local revenue sources — taxes, etc. — account for $32,236,117 million.

Remember, the board and administration started deliberations for the upcoming, 2017-2018 fiscal year budget asking for any and all ideas on how to cut costs. Some of those ideas were dramatic to the point of closing schools. The expense budget the board will vote on this Thursday night totals $77,186,672. Compare the revenue and expense budgets and you see the deficit — a deficit made up by using nearly $6 million in surplus funds.

The use of such a significant amount of surplus money, plus (a big PLUS) the increased cost of paying salaries and benefits, running programs and schools in the 2018-2019 fiscal year and beyond put the district at crisis point.

It’s looking like the board’s ability under the Act 1 law to raise taxes to a limited percent in 2018-2019 will not nearly cover rising expenses.

Thus the Task Force goal to find $10 million in “sustainable savings.”

There is a commitment of time Task Force volunteers must make.

Meetings are scheduled in the Central Mountain High School cafeteria for 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 13; Thursday, Aug. 10; Thursday, Sept. 14, Thursday Oct. 12, with a final report reviewed on Thursday, Oct. 26.

The Task Force’s final report must be completed and reviewed at a special meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2.

“The report is non-binding and will be used as guidance for community expectations of services as the school board moves into the 2018-2019 budget process,” according to the explanation on the Task Force application.

Bottom line: The Task Force is an opportunity for those district parents, grandparents, taxpayers, retirees, businesspeople and civic leaders to take more ownership of their public school district.

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