How Nazareth Shaved School Costs

The Nazareth Area 2013-2014 preliminary school budget has gone through some slashes, slices and dices since February.

The spending plan once totaled $71.43 million and the property tax increase was 0.73 mills. It's now $71.35 million with a tax hike of 0.65 mills.

And that reduction came without any school programs being cut.

Asked how the total budget and the tax increase have been reduced since February, Superintendent Dennis Riker cited three factors:

• The elimination of the third support staff employee.
• Riker’s wearing of two hats—one as the superintendent and a second as human resources director.
• Additional real estate revenue.

In a budget presentation during Monday’s school board meeting, he told the board and audience: “I’m very proud to stand in front of you tonight to say we don’t need to cut one single program.”

He also emphasized that all budget considerations are weighed for their long-term effect and that the 2013-2014 budget is good for the long term.

”Three, four, five years down the road will not put us in bad shape,” he said.

In his presentation, Riker noted the following highlights on the spending side:

• The $71.35 million budget is $3.08 million, or 4.52 percent, higher than the current budget.
• Increases in salaries and benefits total $3.12 million, or 7.13 percent.
• Special education costs are down 3.6 percent.
• Spending for charter schools, which Riker called a “challenging” issue, is up 19.7 percent, or $140,000.
• Under capital projects, spending in both the buildings and grounds and technology categories doubled by the same amount – from $300,000 to $600,000.
• Transportation costs are up 4.8 percent, reflecting the costs of fuel, the bus contract and special needs transportation. Riker said the district is trying to reduce the number of bus runs to make the system more efficient.
• Debt payments declined by $800,000.
• The budgets at the district’s schools all came in with a 5 percent drop, while departmental spending, except for transportation, either stayed the same or dropped.

On the revenue side, Riker said the basic education subsidy and special education subsidy are essentially unchanged. The basic education subsidy increased by $2,372, while the special education subsidy dropped by $6.

Real estate revenue, meanwhile, showed a $916,000 increase.

As he noted in a previous budget presentation, Riker said that in the 2000-2001 school year, Nazareth’s property tax rate was the highest among the county’s districts. Now, it has dropped to the fifth-highest (Easton and Saucon Valley are highest and second-highest, according to the budget presentation).

And, he said, the district’s millage is the lowest among county districts using a formula called the “equalized mill,” which takes into account other factors such as enrollment.