Clearfield School Board OKs Tentative Budget with 4-Mill Tax Hike

CLEARFIELD – Clearfield Area School District’s budget forecast is dreary, and unless changes are made to state law, it won’t improve anytime soon, Business Manager Sam Maney reported Monday.

The COVID pandemic shutted all Pennsylvania public schools on March 13, 2020, causing the district’s cyber-charter enrollment to “skyrocket” in 2021.

The total costs for both outside cyber-charter tuition and Clearfield Cyber Services rose from $1,012,917 in 2019-20 to $2,447,508 in 2020-21, an increase of $1,434,591 (242 percent).

The district’s operating deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year was $1,324,263, which Maney said can be “directly” related to the “spike” in cyber-charter tuition costs.

To help school districts combat increased pandemic-related costs, the federal government awarded Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) grants.

Although the district was awarded over $11 million, the funds can’t be used for current expenses that have exploded like cyber-charter tuition, Maney said.

The federal government’s intention is that the ESSER funds be used for additional spending above the district’s current budget, Maney explained.

Because these are “one-time” funds, he said, new expenditures would only create a larger hole in the district’s budget down the road.

“ESSER should’ve been our lifesaver,” Maney said. “It’s supposed to be the anchor, but they tied it around our neck. It’s very restrictive on how funds can be spent with time limitations.”

The district has only seen a slight drop in enrollment in the Clearfield Cyber Services program for the 2021-22 school year, but outside cyber-charter enrollment numbers have not declined.

The total costs for both programs are estimated to be $2,163,546 for 2021-22, an increase of $1,150,629 (216 percent) over pre-COVID levels, Maney said.

Additionally, increases in state basic education funding for the district have been minimal, he said, and averaging only 1.17 percent over the last five years.

So now, the spike in these state-mandated cyber-charter tuition costs, along with increased operating costs are becoming a local burden, as the district is being “forced” to raise taxes, Maney said.

In the past 10 years, the district has only raised millage three times for a total of 8.16 mills, and he said, it “chose not” to raise millage in 2021-22.

“We had hopes to offset the $1,434,591 increase in cyber-charter tuition costs incurred in the 2020-21 school year with federal ESSER dollars.”

Now the district has been handed a projected budget deficit of $6,698,858 for 2022-23 thanks to a cyber-charter tuition spike, rising operating costs and inflation over 8 percent.

“There’s no relief in sight,” Maney said, and with that, the board unanimously voted, 7-0, to approve the tentative general fund budget that includes a 4-mill tax increase.

Homeowners with a $10,000 assessed value will have a $40 increase in their 2022 school real estate taxes.

Homeowners with a $15,000 assessed value will see a $60 increase and those with a $25,000 assessed value a $100 increase.

The 2022-23 homestead farmstead real estate reduction amount is projected to increase by approximately $50 for any homeowner that filed an application with Clearfield County, Maney said.

This reduction will be reflected as a credit on the 2022 school real estate tax duplicate. Homeowners with a $10,000 assessed value will see a reduction in their 2022 school real estate taxes.

However, homeowners with a $15,000 assessed value will have a net increase of $10 and homeowners with a $25,000 will have a net increase of $50.

The tentative budget calls for revenues of $44.66 million and expenditures of $51.36 million, which represents a 12.64 percent increase in expenditures, $5,763,195, from the current budget.

The budget will go on public display for 30 days at the district’s administrative office, and be presented for final approval during the June 20 board meeting.

Meanwhile Maney continues to call for state lawmakers to change how cyber-charter schools are paid tuition, and said if something doesn’t change soon, it will be the demise of public education.

Currently, cyber-charter tuition is calculated based upon the district’s expenses, not the actual costs, which places the financial burden on the district’s resources and ultimately taxpayers.

Maney also takes issue with cyber-charter tuition for special education students, which was $30,000 per student in 2021-22.

Currently the district’s own program costs over $7 million and it gets a state special education subsidy of approximately $1.9 million.

If the district were paid the same as cyber-charter schools, it would pocket $16 million, Maney said, and “there would be no need for this discussion.

“… It’s not Clearfield; it’s the [commonwealth] of Pennsylvania. If costs don’t come down, we won’t have a choice but to [raise taxes] every year to keep this boat afloat.”