West Mifflin Area School District - Budget

Budget

In 2007, the district employed 181 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $53,071 for 180 days worked. As of 2007, Pennsylvania ranked in the top 10 states in average teacher salaries. When adjusted for cost of living Pennsylvania ranked fourth in the nation for teacher compensation. Additionally, the teachers receive a defined benefit pension, health insurance, professional development reimbursement, personal days, sick days, and other benefits. According to Rep. Glen Grell, a trustee of the Public School Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees, a 40-year educator can retire with a pension equal to 100 percent of their final salary.

West Mifflin School District administrative costs per pupil was $934.39 in 2008. The district ranked 83rd out of 501 Pennsylvania school districts in administration centered spending. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil. In February 2010, the school board promoted Daniel Castagna to Assistant Superintendent with a five-year contract that included an initial salary of $106,900. In a controversial vote, the board promoted Dr. Janet Sardon to superintendent in November 2009. She was given a five-year contract with a starting salary of $120,000. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association keeps statistics on salaries of public school district employees in Pennsylvania. According to the association, the average salary for a superintendent for the 2007–08 school year was $122,165. Superintendents and administrators receive a benefit package commensurate with that offered to the district's teachers' union. In February 2011, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported that former Superintendent Patrick Risha, had charged the district $9,294 for meals, during his three years as superintendent. He abruptly resigned in November 2009 citing poor health and died in 2011.

In 2010, the district faced a $5 million dollar revenue shortfall. This was precipitated by several factors including the loss of $1.2 million in property tax paid by the Century III Mall which won a reassessment that reduced its value from $112 million in 2006 to $58 million in 2009. Additionally, earned income tax revenues were reported by the district's business manager to have declined. There was also a significant under budgeting for special education costs. The district cut twelve positions as a part of balancing the budget. From 2007 to 2010, the district employed a public relations coordinator/grant writer at an annual cost of over $59,000. The position was cut in 2010. The PR employee, Robyn Tedesco, sued the school district alleging she had a five-year contract which ended in April 2012. In June 2011, the district settled her suit for an undisclosed amount. In March 2011, the district's former director of security, Joseph Gajdos, whose position was also eliminated in June 2010, agreed to a $65,000 settlement. He also claimed he had a five-year contract.

In March 2011, the board approved eliminating 52 jobs in the district for the 2011–12 school year. this change was in response to a $3.1 million deficit. Additionally, the district anticipated the loss of over $1 million in state funding for the next budget year. One serious issue impacting the revenue side of the budget is the many successful tax assessment appeals in 2010 and 2011. In several cases, the district has had to pay back over paid taxes totaling over $751,000. The reduced assessments also means substantially less revenue for future budgets.

In April 2011, four incumbent school board member lost the local primary. Their terms end in early December 2011. West Mifflin board President Kathy Bracco and fellow school directors Ned Mervos, Albert Graham and Diana Olasz all lost in the primary.

In May 2009, the Pennsylvania Auditor General conducted a performance audit of the district. Significant findings were reported to the administration and school board.

In 2008, West Mifflin Area School District reported spending $13,985 per pupil. This ranked 106th in the commonwealth.

Reserves

In 2009, the district reported $1,335,609 in an unreserved-undesignated fund balance. The designated fund balance was reported as zero.

The district is funded by a combination of: a local earned income tax, a property tax, a real estate transfer tax, coupled with substantial funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government. Grants can provide an opportunity to supplement school funding without raising local taxes. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pension income and Social Security income are exempted from state personal income tax and local earned income tax, regardless the of individual's wealth.