Furloughs, Early Retirements to Close School Budget Gap

To move closer in balancing its $83.9 million 2011-2012 budget, officials have factored in the potential for furloughing 15 to 20 teachers next year. 

By doing so, the district would shrink the previously projected to a $211,000 gap, officials said Thursday during a school board finance committee meeting.

“Considering where we were and where we are today we’re getting closer to where we need to be,” Superintendent Curtis Griffin said of the initial . “We’re in a very good place. We still have a tremendous amount of hard work to do.”

Hatboro-Horsham could be in an even better place if enough teachers opt for an early retirement incentive, which Griffin said could dramatically reduce or possibly eliminate altogether the need for furloughs. Teachers have until May 31 to announce their retirement plans and qualify for the incentive, which includes a 4 percent retroactive salary increase for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. 

The retirement incentive is a feature of the , which was approved earlier this month, nearly two years after the district’s 411 teachers’ contract expired on June 30, 2009. 

The board took no action during Thursday's more than two-hour-long public meeting, which was followed by an executive session that Griffin said would be used to discuss in more detail individuals who could be furloughed. If furloughs are carried out, Griffin said the board would act at its June 6 meeting. The furloughs, he said, are carried out by seniority, meaning the teachers with the least amount of district service would lose their jobs first. 

In addition to a reduction in teachers, Griffin said Thursday - as he has at several other public meetings - that some programs would be curtailed and possibly cut. However, he declined to say which programs would be scaled back for fear of unnecessarily worrying teachers that their positions would be furloughed.

Program cuts would be announced at the board’s June 6 meeting, he said.

District business administrator Bob Reichert said the board is slated to adopt a preliminary budget on May 16 and a final budget on June 20. Based on the , which outlines the maximum amount school property taxes can be raised, Reichert said Hatboro homeowners, on average, could expect a $41 tax hike, while Horsham homeowners, on average, could see a $61 tax increase.

Until the budget is adopted, Reichert said district officials would work to see what areas could be potentially trimmed. The district is considering outsourcing its transportation and support staff, such as teacher assistants. The district stands to save $8,400 per teacher assistant in retirement and benefits, Reichert said.

Griffin noted that it’s “not a perfect solution,” adding that limited control of personnel presents a challenge. Another option is to save $10,000 by making the school calendar available online only instead of printing and mailing it to district parents.

And while Griffin said he hopes some of the state’s funding will be restored in Gov. Corbett’s proposed budget, the “biggest fear” in the pipeline is the loss of impact funding that the federal government pays for the 1,100-acre Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base. Military operations will cease by Sept. 15. The Horsham Land Reuse Authority is in the process of drafting a for the base’s future, which is due to the Department of Defense by year’s end.

For now, while the property is in federal hands, Reichert said the district will continue to receive about $650,000 a year.

“When the federal ownership changes hands is when we lose eligibility,” Reichert said, adding that the district would receive aid for a year following the transfer. The concern, Reichert said, is for the years in between when the transfer is carried out and the land is redeveloped, which officials have said could take years, if not decades.  

Looking ahead, Griffin said he foresees the district’s budgeting challenges continuing. A currently untapped revenue generator that the district could possibly explore, he said, involves seeking corporate sponsorships, offering naming rights for various school property such as Hatters Stadium, and placing businesses' advertisements on the district’s Web site. He suggested that the board develop a policy so that, if and when opportunities present themselves, officials are prepared.

“In many ways we have a population that a lot of business and a lot of organizations would love to target,” Griffin said. “There is revenue to be generated from this process but it is not without controversy.”