Question: What is the Salaries & Benefits % compared to last year?
Answer:
2016/2017 Actual Total Salaries & Benefits = $28,408,181.00
2016/2017 Actual Total Expenses = $40,616.195.00
2016/2017 Actual Total Salaries & Benefits as a % of Total Expenditures = 70%
2018/1019 Budgeted Total Salaries & Benefits @ 2.12.18 = $30,783,215.00
2018/2019 Budgeted Total Expenses @ 2.12.18 = $43,073,039.00
2018/2019 Budgeted Total Salaries & Benefits as a % of Total Expenditures @ 2.12.18 = 71%
Question: What is the cost per student?
Answer:
2018/2019 Budgeted Total Expenses @ 2.12.18 = $43,073,039.00
Total # of Students taught by JSASD Teachers & JSOL students @ 2.2.18 = $2,387.00
Costs per Student = $18,044.84
2018/2019 Budgeted Total Expenses@ 2.12.18 = $43,073,039.00
Total # of Students taught by JSASD Teachers, JSOL Students and Outside Placements @ 2.2.18 = $2,455.00
Costs per Student = $17,545.03
Question: Is it established board procedure to provide responses to FAQs on the district website? If so, why aren’t the responses to FAQ’s from the January public hearings posted? Or will they be?
Answer: The purpose of a public hearing is to hear commentary from the public in regard to the school closures. Mrs. Wasson, clearly stated no FAQ responses would be taken from the public hearings. The FAQ is being utilized to answer public questions at the regular board meetings.
Question: What is the dollar amount generated by a one mill tax increase for homes valued in the lowest 10%, 20% and those of median value (per property)?
Answer:
Based on information provided by Lycoming County:
A 1 mill tax increase will generate the following:
Lowest 10% = $4,411.94
Lowest 20% = $20,720.20
Median Value = $75.70
Question: Of the privately owned properties in the district how many are tax-exempt? How many homes in the district are rental properties? Total # of homes?
Answer: Based on assessment information provided by the Counties on 1/19/18: Lycoming County has 290 tax-exempt parcels. Clinton County has 71 tax-exempt parcels. The county assessment offices do not track the number of rental properties vs. the number of homes in the district.
Question: What is the actual dollar amount of state and federal funding in the 2018-19 budget?
Answer: In the budget binders provided to the board, the total state funding is $23,183,202 and federal is $641,802.
Question: What is the planned disbursement of committed fund balance in each specific area for the next three budget cycles?
Answer:
PSERS Committed Fund Balance:
18-19 = $441,684
19-20 = $452,726
20-21 = $324,831
There has not been a plan for the Health Insurance committed fund balance presented to the board.
Question: What is the expiration/payoff date for the high school building project bonds? What amount of budget dollars will this free up? Same questions for the JSE bonds and any others not listed.
Answer:
| Debt | Local Amount Outstanding @ 6.30.17 | Payoff Date | Purpose |
| GOB 2010 AA | $ 241,792.00 | 9/1/2017 | Refund 2005A |
| GOB 2012 | 135,026.00 | 3/1/2026 | JSE Renovation |
| GOB 2013 | 4,049,091.00 | 3/1/1930 | JSE Renovation |
| GOB 2015 | 8,099,768.00 | 9/1/2025 | Refund 2010 |
| GOB 2015 A | 988,053.00 | 9/1/2023 | Refund 2010 A |
| GON 2015 AA | 4,845,168.00 | 9/1/2022 | Refund 2010 AA |
| GON 2015 AAA | 1,555,268.00 | 9/1/2020 | Refund 2010 AAA |
| GON 2015 AAAA | 3,046,962.00 | 9/1/2023 | Refund 2011 |
| GON 2017 | 8,147,930.00 | 9/1/2028 | Refund 2012 |
| Total | $ 31,109,058.00 |
Question: What is meant in the budget by short term investments of $7,040,000.00?
Answer: Cash and certificates of deposits.
Question: What is meant by the unassigned fund balance of $847,524.00?
Answer: The amount of fund balance that is not assigned for any particular purpose.
Question: How will you continue to add to fund balance to maintain required % of total budget?
Answer: As board policy 620 states, “the board will pursue variations of increasing revenues and decreasing expenditures, or a combination of both…”
Question: You have published a preliminary 2018-19 budget. Are spreadsheets available or will be provided that show the detailed expenditures in each area so the public can be better prepared to offer possible solutions to the budget deficit?
Answer: This has not been determined.
Question: What positions were eliminated in 2013-2014 due to the closure of Nippenose elementary? What was the total pay and benefits of those positions?
Answer: Three teaching positions were eliminated due to consolidation of the two schools (annual savings = $154,580.13); 1 custodial position (annual savings = $34,912.24); one secretary position (annual savings = $49,240.37); one library aide position (annual savings = $23,273.92 ); two classroom aide positions (annual savings = $39,992.33); and one LPN position (annual savings = $40,175.85). **all these figures included salaries and benefits from the positions that were furloughed and from positions that would have been new hires (due to retirements/resignations) that were not replaced due to the consolidation of Nipp and JSE. Total annual savings of salary and benefits due to the closure of Nippenose Elementary = $342,174.84
Question: What was the total annual operation cost of Nippenose elementary in 2012-2013 school year excluding salaries or benefits?
Answer: $111,151.32 was the operational cost (this is the operational cost from 2012-2013, excluding salaries/benefits); also, from the feasibility study done at the time, there was a capitol project cost savings of $2,020,616 (this was projected capital project expenditures for the building – addressing future needs for that building).
**When adding the annual salaries and benefit savings to the annual operational cost savings, the total annual savings becomes $453,326.16.
Question: What was the increased number of miles to the bus routes to transport Nippenose students to JSE?
Answer: There was not an overall increase, there was an overall decrease of almost 9 miles per day (8.98 miles was the exact number calculated based on the figures from the bus companies). This decrease was probably due to rerouting the pickups (for efficiency purposes) to end in town rather than at Nippenose Elementary. The increase or decrease in mileage for the 6 buses that serviced those students are shown below:
Bus 261 – increase of 5.5 miles per day
Bus 231 – increase of 3.3 miles per day
Bus 380 – decrease of 37.69 miles per day
Bus 396 – increase of 7.47 miles per day
Bus 371 – increase of 17.03 miles per day
Bus 393 – decrease of 4.59 miles per day
Question: What is the district’s current cost per mile for bus transportation?
Answer: The state has a formula called the “Computation of Reimbursable Transportation Rates” that is used in transportation. This is what we use for our contracts and the contractors are paid based on this formula (some other districts may pay more than the state set rate – we do not). Due to all the factors that go into this formula, there is not a set cost per mile, it is different for each bus. Each bus is paid a daily rate based on this formula which includes the buses age, daily mileage, number of days the bus is used, greatest number of students on the bus during a single run, etc. A bus could have the exact same route in two different years with the exact same number of students, but the cost may change due to the bus being older (or newer if the company replaced an older bus with a newer bus). To show how this can fluctuate when you try to use daily rate from the state formula and divide that daily rate by miles, we have a bus that costs $1.55 per mile (with a daily rate of 149.39), and a bus with a daily rate of 123.15 but it would calculate at $4.97 per mile. This fluctuation is due to the one bus traveling quite a few miles, and the other traveling very few miles. We also have two buses with almost identical daily rates ($248.28 and 247.65) yet if you tried to compare the calculated cost per mile it would be a difference of $1.18 per mile (one would calculate at $2.18 per mile, the other at $3.36 per mile).
If you calculated each bus this way to try to come up with a “cost per mile,” the average would be $2.93 per mile. I am not totally convinced this is the best way to calculate the “cost per mile” since it could change so much every year for each bus.
If you look strictly at daily rates for buses, it ranges from $123.15 per day for our least expensive route (this bus has a short route but picks up a lot of students) to $596.41 per day for our most expensive route (this bus services areas in the most northern areas of our district – like Cedar Run, for elementary and secondary students).
Question: What is the average cost to the district for each student who chooses to attend cyber or rural charter school?
Answer: $10,619.33 for a regular education student and $21,289.42 for a special education student
Question: What was the total cyber/charter school expenditure in 2012-13 school year prior to Nippenose closure? 13-14? Through current?
Answer:
2012-2013 = $1,328,910.80
2013-2014 = $1,784,013.87
2014-2015 = $1,382,619.63
2015-2016 = $1,453,398.57
2016-2017 = $1,803,024.15
2017-2018 = $1,011,735.66 (through 1-31-18)
*Each year, rates increase.
Question: What has been the Total Dollar amount invested by tax payers for real estate, construction, and improvements including fiber optic lines to Salladasburg and Avis elementary?
Answer:
Avis Original Construction = $1,961,707
Salladasburg Original Construction = $788,085
Salladasburg Renovation = $4,057,167
Question: How many total square feet are Avis and Salladasburg Schools?
Answer:
Avis- 44,550
Salladsburg-original 37,711+11,392 addition in 2001= 49,103.
Question: What would be the cost to the tax payers to build that square footage today using the same cost per square foot that was paid during the JSE construction project?
Answer:
Salladasburg Elementary is 49103 SQ’ on the low end cost of 2010-12 it would be estimated at$ 9,820,600.00 and the high end at$ 12,275,750.00
Avis Elementary is 44,550 SQ’ on the low end cost it would be$ 8,910,000.00 and at the high end at $11,137,500.00
Total cost estimating both at 200.00$ a SQ’ 18,730,600,00
Total cost estimating both at 250.00$ a SQ’ 23,413,250.00
Question: What did Nippenose Elementary Sell for?
Answer: $456,930.00
Question: Please clarify exactly what Crabtree, Rohrbach and Associates will do to update the District-wide Facility Study.
Answer: Crabtree, Rohrbach and Associates will update the 2010 District-wide Facility Study. This will include multiple options for using the existing buildings in an efficient and effective manner.