Fox Chapel Area School Board approves budget with program cuts, 1.5% tax hike

Covid-19 and its unknown long-term impact have taken a toll on the Fox Chapel Area School District 2020-21 budget, with program cuts that include the elimination of two school resource officers and a pause on the elementary Spanish Immersion program.

“Because of the unknown impact on projected revenues and expenditures, this was a difficult budget year,” said Bonnie Berzonski, district coordinator of communications.

The school board approved the $102 million budget on June 29. The plan calls for a 1.5% increase to a property tax rate of 19.8 mills.

The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 will pay $3,960 in school taxes, up from $3,914.

Berzonski said the decrease in expenses from the 2019-2020 budget is $1.7 million, or 1.7%.

Notably, budget reductions include the elimination of two municipal police officers who work as resource officers in the high school and Dorseyville Middle School.

The roles will now be covered by the district’s school police force, a move that is expected to save about $120,000 this year.

“The district appreciates its partnerships with local government and the local police forces,” Berzonski said, adding that all district police officers are trained as school resource officers.

She said one officer from the district’s police force will be based in each school building to maintain safety, interact with students, build relationships and provide programming.

The board also approved several other reassignments to save money.

The facilitator of the district’s Creativity and Literacy Program (CLP), housed at Kerr Elementary, will be moved to a classroom with the facilitator’s position paid instead through a supplemental contract.

The move is expected to save nearly $99,000, Berzonski said.

The enrollment for the CLP for the 2019-2020 school year was 308 students.That includes four sessions hosted throughout the school year with some students attending multiple sessions.

“Changing the program’s facilitator from a full-time position to a supplemental contract is an effort to maintain the program within the budget constraints for the 2020-2021 school year,” Berzonski said.

“Changing the CLP facilitator to a supplemental contract was simply a programming decision that enabled the district to better utilize staff.”

Berzonski said the district anticipates a lower real estate tax collection rate this year of 94%, as well as reduced revenue from earned income taxes as a result of the lingering pandemic.

She noted a 6.2% increase in tuition costs for students to attend cyber schools, charter schools and the A.W. Beattie Career Center, along with an increase in facilities costs and an $800,000 transfer to the Capital Projects Fund.

Elsewhere, cuts have been made in meals and refreshments, supplies and equipment, as well as to the summer programs. Because of covid-19, the district’s Summer Learning Academy will be offered online.

The district has also decided to pause its popular Spanish Immersion program this fall and move forward with only the rising second-graders currently enrolled.

The move comes partly because of the uncertainty about when students will return to the classrooms, Berzonski said, and concerns that starting the program online would be detrimental to students’ progress.

The continuation of the program with a new first-grade class would cost about $158,290 for the 2020-2021 school year, Berzonski said.

Adding another class would also mean a five-year financial commitment for the district, she said.

To review the budget, visit fcasd.edu.