Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Hatboro-Horsham School District considers replacing its contracted counselors with existing teaching staff.
Is it better for students struggling with school-related stress, drugs, alcohol and other issues to talk to a teacher, or someone "outside" of the school? As officials consider trading contracted counselors for in-house staff as a cost-saving measure, that was the question several inquired about during Monday night's school board work session. Hatboro-Horsham High School Principal Dennis Williams, in a brief presentation Monday night, suggested that the district save roughly $85,000 a year by replacing two contracted counselors with four or five district teachers who he said are trained and certified through the state's Student Assistance Program to guide students through what the state deems "barriers to learning." "We can effectively and…
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
School district positions may be eliminated to plug a budget shortfall.
Hatboro-Horsham School District staff in jeopardy of losing their jobs could know by June if theirs are one of the “minimum” 5.5 positions poised to be cut as officials continue wrangling with a budget shortfall. Of those positions, Superintendent Curtis Griffin said three are held by long-term substitute teachers. Others could be handled through attrition as staff retires. “We’re still working through that. We’re hoping we won’t have to impact people, but at the end of the day we might,” Griffin said. “I’m a little more cautious. I want to make sure we’re making good decisions.” In addition to reductions in staffing, Griffin said tightening the belt with the $86.5 million 2012-2013 could also mean program changes and reductions, as …
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Officials said more tweaks will be made before the spending plan is adopted in June.
Citing uncertainties in federal and state funding, as well as a roughly $3 million increase in salaries, benefits, retirement system costs and special education programs, officials on Tuesday night presented the Hatboro-Horsham School District’s 2012-2013 budget. As presented, the $86.6 million preliminary spending plan has a $1.7 million shortfall. Even if the board opts to raise taxes in June as part of the budget approval process, the Act 1 allowance of 1.7 percent would only generate an estimated $997,974, officials said, leaving the district with a $709,304 gap. “We’re going to continue to dissect every area,” Bob Reichert, the district’s director of business affairs said. “It’s going to be a busy six months. We’ll get there.” …
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Many voice support for tax increase to cover budget shortfall
If the program-slashing preliminary budget the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners posted last week was intended to elicit a reaction from the public, it seems to have worked. Residents packed a courtroom at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown on Wednesday for a public hearing on the budget, some waiting in line for up to three hours to speak to commissioners Joe Hoeffel and Bruce Castor on the importance of the county parks department, library system, Montgomery County Community College, and other institutions threatened by funding cuts in the proposed $384.4 million operating budget. Having already moved the Board of Commissioners meeting to the courthouse from its usual venue in the eighth floor boardroom of One …
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Tax hike looms as axe hangs over county health department, community college funding
"We're not talking about cutting dessert here. We're talking about cutting meals." Those were the words of Montgomery County Financial Director James Maza, as he briefed the county commissioners on what would need to occur in order to overcome a $44 million budget shortfall going into next year. Joined by county CFO Randy Schaible and other finance department leaders, Maza presented the commissioners with ten possible options to help balance next year's budget, including the elimination of appropriation funding to the library, community college and mass transit, as well as the elimination of certain county departments including the parks and recreation deparment, the planning commission, the health department and courthouse security. "We …
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Hatboro officials asked department heads to eliminate 'non-essential' programs to help close a 2012 budget deficit.
As Hatboro officials work to close a more than $350,000 budget shortfall, the council on Monday night heard proposed cuts from department heads totaling $42,000. Among the potential cuts was Hatboro’s D.A.R.E. program, which provides drug prevention and awareness to school-aged kids. Hatboro Police Chief James Gardner said the police department has taught D.A.R.E. for 20 years, along with Horsham Township Police Department and he Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department to offer educational programs to Hatboro-Horsham School District children. “Right now it’s just conceptual,” Gardner said of the possible cut, adding that he hopes the borough's involvement in the program can continue. “DARE was previously at least partially funded by a state…
Friday, November 11, 2011
Officials hope to have a revised draft by Monday's meeting.
Hatboro officials are working to balance the roughly $4 million 2012 budget, which currently has a more than $350,000 shortfall. During the council’s second budget work session Wednesday night, the governing body directed borough manager Steven Plaugher to meet with department heads to review line items and determine what cuts could be made. Republicans Vincent LaSorsa and John Zygmont, both CPAs, said it was up to the finance committee - comprised of Democrats Marianne Reymer and Patty Fleming - to find solutions to the deficit. "Come back to us with some recommendations of ways to reduce the deficit to zero," LaSorsa said. "That’s the finance department’s function." "Really? Because there’s seven people on this council," Reymer fired …
Monday, August 15, 2011
Hatboro-Horsham School District will receive $817,433 more in state funding.
After initially facing a $2 million budget shortfall, the Hatboro-Horsham School District will end up with an extra $453,000 in its coffers, officials said Monday. In all, the district will receive $817,433 more in state funding than previously expected. Notification of the funds came after the board’s final budget adoption in June, Robert Reichert district business manager said during Monday’s school board meeting. A little more than half the funding - $453,304 – the governor’s proposed cut to social security subsidies, will be unallocated, Reichert said and will be recorded as a fund balance at year’s end. Since the board used about $3 million of its current fund balance to finalize the 2011-2012 budget, Reichert said that money will …
BoroBob
9:02 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Not sure I understand the math here. We have enough teachers with free periods to cover the whole day that is currently covered by two contracted people. That seems to imply we could get rid of two teachers instead. Two teachers at at least 85k each or two contracted employees at 85k total, seems like an easy call. I would also be concerned about replacing professional counselors with minimally … more ›