Stimulus money, cuts, curbed spending will balance budget in North Allegheny School District

The North Allegheny School District has proposed using a blend of federal stimulus money, cuts and delayed spending to erase a $6.7 million hole in the proposed 2021-22 budget without the need to hike property taxes.

Roger Sechler, the district’s director of business operations, said the plan to keep the property tax at the current rate while plugging the budget hole would be done by:

• Using a $1.9 million one-time federal stimulus payment.

• Utilizing $2.6 million earmarked for capital projects, technology and substitute teachers.

• Saving $2.1 million by holding off on hiring new elementary literacy coaches, curriculum coordinators and additional principals for the North Allegheny Cyber Academy.

Sechler said the demand for substitute teachers decreased this year and is expected to continue through the coming school year.

“We’re coming off two large projects at Franklin and McKnight (elementary schools) and have some savings from those projects to fund this year’s budget,” he said.

Even with a growth in the number of students attending the cyber academy, Sechler said district officials are confident that the online school can operate next year without adding additional principals.

The elementary literacy coaches would have been hired to supplement the district’s existing staff.

Sechler said the approximately $126,000 not covered by the mix of cuts and spending delays would be eliminated by using money from this year’s fund balance.

While the financial strategy for avoiding a tax increase without major cuts to programs will allow the district to avoid a tax increase next year, there are long-term expenses that will have to be addressed, he said.

He noted that because the district does not have a high turnover rate for teachers, many will become eligible for longevity increases, or “bumps” in the next several years.

“We’ve got several big cohorts of teachers who will be eligible for bumps based on their tenure with the district,” Sechler said, noting that the number of teachers eligible for the salary increases is “slightly higher than our historical average.”

The additional salary will cost the district about $1.5 million in 2021-22 school year and increase to $1.8 million in 2022-23. By 2026, the additional pay will cost the district about $7.73 million a year.

District officials are expected to approve a final budget this month. By law, school districts must submit a balanced budget to the state by June 30.

If the board avoids a tax increase, the rate used to calculate property tax bills will remain at 19.1408 mills.

A mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. At a rate of 19.1408 mills, the annual tax bill for a property with an assessed value of $200,000 will continue to be $3,860.16.