Nazareth Area School District Facing $551,000 Budget Deficit

The Nazareth Area School Board for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, which calls for a 2 percent property tax increase.

Even with the proposed increase, the district is still facing a budget deficit of $551,000.

The proposed increase of 0.95 mills, from 47.69 mills to 48.64 mills, would mean a tax increase of $74 for an average property owner in the district. The budget -- projected at just over $69 million -- is still in the preliminary stage and could change by the time it is adopted in final form in May. The budget will be in effect from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013.

Superintendent Victor Lesky stressed that a vote on the preliminary budget is not a firm commitment to the numbers.

“You’re not committing to anything tonight,” Lesky said.

School board president Lorin Bradley said he would accept the preliminary budget, but “I’m still looking for opportunities for savings.”

“We are looking for a half a million in cuts just to meet this goal,” Lesky said about the budget deficit.

The board also heard budget presentations from Dr. Ronald Roth, the administrative director of Career Institute of Technology (CIT), and Dr. Arthur Scott, president of (NCC).

Roth told the board that enrollment has decreased slightly. For this reason, the district’s contribution for the 2012-2013 school year would be reduced by $114,940 to the tune of $1.1 million. The district's contribution for the current school year was nearly $1.2 million.

While the number of students attending CIT has decreased, the number of graduates heading directly to NCC has increased.

Scott reported that 26.8 percent of Nazareth’s 2011 graduates attended NCC this fall. This was an increase of 2.2 percent over recent years, he said. In all, 1,954 NCC students are from the Nazareth Area School District. About 46 percent of those students attend class full time.

The college has also continued to improve its programs, Scott said, noting that the last two professors named the Pennsylvania Professor of the Year were from NCC.

“It’s always been a good institution, but you’ve made it a better than good institution," board member Darrell Crook said. Scott announced last year he plans to retire at the end of the current school year but would stay on until a replacement is found.

Scott said that because more Nazareth students are attending NCC, he is requesting an increase of $12,414 to the district’s contribution. According to his presentation, the district hasn’t increased its contribution in the last few years.

The district contributed $600,000 to the college this school year, Lesky said.