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BELLEFONTE -- Bellefonte Area School District's Board of Directors got its first look at a preliminary 2024-2025 budget.
During Tuesday's meeting, the district's Director of Fiscal Affairs, Ken Bean, overviewed the district's 2024-2025 budget, and suggested millage could increase by as much as 3.8 percent.
In 2006, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 1, the "Taxpayer Relief Act," which requires school districts to limit tax increases to a level set by a state-wide inflation index. The Pennsylvania Department of Education calculates a base index and an adjusted index based on a school district's relative wealth.
The Bellefonte Area School District's adjusted index caps residents' real estate taxes at 6.6 percent. Since at least 2016, however, the district has not taxed residents to the full extent allowed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
"We have not come close to the Act 1 index. We have kept them very low," said Bean, who added in previous years the district has avoided raising taxes when possible. Bean also noted that these figures will likely change before the budget is finalized.
"Right now, for my estimate, I'm at 3.8 percent. Again it's very early, a lot of numbers are not known yet. Hopefully it will come down," said Bean. An increase of this size would be the highest percentage increase since 2011.
The budget presentation outlined expected revenues and expenditures for the academic year, alongside committed fund balances for a new elementary school and capital project repairs.
$3.03 million has been earmarked for construction of a new Bellefonte Elementary school, a project that has been in the works for several years. The total includes $500,000 set aside from the 2024-2025 budget. $1.13 million has been allotted for repairs, with a proposed $350,000 to be reserved from the discussed budget.
As of March 2024, the Bellefonte Borough has offered conditional approval for the land development phase of the new elementary school project.
On March 12, the school board approved the project to go out to bid for contractors.
Budget discussion will be ongoing throughout April, with meetings scheduled for 7 p.m. April 9 at the Central PA Institute of Science and Technology and April 24 at the Bellefonte Area High School. The budget is planned to be finalized in June.
The school board also announced at the meeting the retirement of the District Superintendent Tammie Burnaford who has been at the district since 2003, and has served as superintendent since 2021.
"I want to thank Mrs. Burnaford for her years and years of service and dedication to not only the Bellefonte community but also the students" said school board President Jon Guizar
Burnaford previously served as interim superintendent after the retirement of Superintendent Michelle Saylor.
"She always makes decisions with students first and that is her heart. And that is not only what she says, but those are her actions and that is the job of any superintendent," said Board Member Donna Smith who expressed her admiration and respect for Burnaford alongside other colleagues.
Burnaford's term will conclude June 30, 2024.