News

June 25, 2008

Pittston Area eyes $800,000 budget gap

SHERRY LONG slong@timesleader.com

YATESVILLE – Pittston Area School Board members learned during Tuesday’s specially called meeting to discuss the budget that the district needs more than $800,000 to balance the 2008-09 school year spending plan.

Business consultant Albert Melone recommended the board raise its property taxes by 9.5 mills for a total of 281.5 mills. A mill is a $1 tax on a $1,000 assessed property value.

But even with raising the taxes the district would still need to move $825,413 from its general fund to balance the budget, according to data from Melone.

Melone presented a budget presentation in May that estimated taxes would be raised by 13.5 mills. Revisions within the last month allowed him to drop his projections by four mills.

State Department of Education calculations showed the district needed an increase of 15.5 mills just to cover next year’s expenses, Melone said.

“We feel extremely comfortable that we turned over every rock,” Melone said.

But board member Bob Linskey challenged that. Not enough has been done to reduce spending, he said.

After reviewing the district’s budgets from the last five years, Linskey, who is an accountant, presented a plan he said would save $383,053.

He believes the district has over-budgeted on line items compared to the past.

In the past, if the district has only spent $5,000 on particular expenses each year, why now increase that to $10,000 this year, he asked.

“I cut the fat out of the budget and they rejected it,” Linskey said.

“We have an ability here to take a 9.5 mill to a 3.5 mill. You are trying to make it sound like I am taking money away from the students.”

The district has $350,000 in a budgetary reserve account that it could use if it discovers it under-budgeted a particular line item during the year, Linskey said.

District Superintendent Ross Scarantino said that if the district didn’t raise the millage it would incur even more debt.

Taxpayer and district resident Charlie Hatchako said the district needed to curb its spending.

Board member Mark Singer, an attorney, yelled at Hatchako, asking him if he was saying that he or other board members were corrupt.

“Choose your words carefully,” Singer snapped.

Hatchako said he didn’t accuse Singer or anyone of corruption, but said maybe Singer had a guilty conscience.

All school district budgets must be approved by July 1, when its new fiscal year begins. Board members will vote on the finalized budget during Monday’s board meeting.

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