Mid Valley School District - Budget

Budget

In 2010, the district and school board were cited by the Pennsylvania Auditor General's Office for significant questionable spending at a national school board convention in Florida. School board members charged costly meals and theme park tickets in addition to other travel spending to the school district.

Several school board members (Shevchik, Rovinsky, Gilgallon, Logan) were found by the PA Ethics Commission to have violated Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. §1103(a). They were required to repay the school district.

In 2009, the district reports employing over 130 teachers with a starting salary of $38,000 for 183 days for pupil instruction. The average teacher salary was $47,205 while the maximum salary was $84,000. 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. Mid Valley teachers are required to work a seven hour day. Additionally, Mid Valley School District teachers receive a defined benefit pension, health insurance, long term disability insurance, professional development reimbursement, paid personal days, 10 sick days, and other benefits. Teachers are paid an additional hourly rate, if they are required to work outside of the regular school day. Retirees receive compensation for each unused accumulated sick day. Teachers who serves as department heads and team leaders receive extra compensation. According to State Rep. Glen Grell, a trustee of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System Board, a 40-year educator can retire with a pension equal to 100 percent of their final salary.

In 2007, the district employed 96 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $44,327 for 183 school days worked.

Mid Valley School District administrative costs per pupil in 2008 was $837.72 per pupil. This ranked 154th out of 500 Pennsylvania School districts. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil.

In 2008, Mid Valley School District reported spending $10,764 per pupil. This ranked 419th in the commonwealth.

Reserves

In 2009, the district reported $1,544,647 in an unreserved-undesignated fund balance. The designated fund balance was reported as $575,000.

In June 2010, the Pennsylvania Auditor General conducted a performance audit of the district. Findings were reported to the administration and school board.

The district is funded by a combination of: a local earned income tax, a property tax, a real estate transfer tax 0.5%, 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 and Social Security income are exempted from state personal income tax and local earned income tax regardless of the individual's wealth.