Greensburg Salem considers holding tax line, restoring elementary band for 2021-22

Greensburg Salem School District is looking to restore some staff positions under a proposed 2021-22 budget that would not raise real estate taxes. The board will consider the tentative $47 million budget at its May 19 meeting.

Business manager J. R. Dzurica said this week that the budget will allow the district to retain all staff positions and fill some that have been vacant, including hiring an elementary band instructor and a grant writer along with an in-house technician for technology-related matters and a part-time curriculum administrative assistant.

Some district residents have called for restoring the elementary band program, which fell by the wayside when the instructor shifted duties to cover for another member of the music department who retired. It was among several positions that were eliminated through attrition and related staffing moves under the 2020-21 budget.

That budget also kept the local property tax at 89.72 mills, as the covid-19 pandemic was in full force and the district prepared for a potentially grim financial impact.

“I know the cuts were tough,” Dzurica said. “Had we not cut those positions, we would be looking at a lot bigger deficit.”

The proposed 2021-22 budget reflects a 1.65% increase in spending from this year and an increase in expected revenue of just over 1%, to about $46.2 million — resulting in an anticipated shortfall of about $715,000.

Two months ago, Dzurica was projecting a deficit of more than $1.3 million in the 2021-22 budget. But he said the district’s financial picture has since brightened, with improved projections for local tax revenue and rates for employee medical coverage that came in lower than expected.

In April, Dzurica told the school board that a forecast of the current budget showed a potential operating surplus of about $1 million and a fund balance of more than $5.2 million — though he cautioned that actual budget figures could be quite different by the end of the fiscal year in June.

Superintendent Gary Peiffer noted there was an initial effort to revive the elementary band by attempting to hire a program leader under a supplementary contract. There were no takers for that position.

School board members Lynna Thomas and Lynn Jobe, who voted against the 2020-21 budget, asked district administrators to consider options for restoring cuts to the library program.

Though library facilities and resources have remained available to students and staff at the affected schools, a middle school librarian and two elementary librarians were reassigned to classroom duties.

“The issue of the librarians remains a concern in the community,” said Thomas. With the goal of having students back in the classroom five days a week in the fall, she said, “We need to have really good, robust programming. Is that something we can make work?”

Bringing back elementary school librarians would require a tax increase, Peiffer said.

“I would not recommend it just yet,” he said. “We’re coming out (of pandemic restrictions), but we’re not near 100% yet. It’s prudent to be cautious with taxpayer dollars and bring things back slowly.”

Dzurica indicated a 1-mill tax hike would generate an additional $232,000 for the district while adding $17.10 to the tax bill of a homeowner whose property has a mid-range market value of $130,473.

Board member Robin Savage noted many residents who were idled by the pandemic are not yet back to work.

Jeff Metrosky, board vice president, said the district is “definitely going in the right direction” with the proposed new budget. “It’s pretty close to being an operationally balanced budget,” he said. “We brought back three positions plus added a part-time position for our central office.”

Thomas asked administrators to consider restaffing the libraries at least with temporary positions, possibly funded through a pending third wave of federal pandemic relief expected to exceed $7 million.

Peiffer said he would consider that possibility, but he noted there are restrictions on use of those funds and the district wants to tap it for other tasks, including making improvements to building ventilation.