Reading School District - Budget

Budget

In 2009, the Reading School District reported employing 1,387 teachers and administrators with a median salary of $52,826 and a top salary of $147,056. The district reported that 14 administrators received a salary of over $104,000 per year. The teacher’s work day is 7 hours in ES and 7.5 hours in MS/SHS with 186 days in the contract year (180 student days). Teachers receive a 30 minute duty free lunch and daily preparation period. Additionally, the teachers receive a defined benefit pension, health insurance, professional development reimbursement, 1-2 paid personal days, 10 paid sick days, paid bereavement leave, 3 paid emergency days and other benefits. The district pays a benefit of compensation based on unused sick days for a deceased employee to the estate. Special Education employees receive an additional payment above salary. Teachers receive an annual longevity bonus after 25 years. Teachers taking sabbatical leave receive 2/3rd of salary and earn sick days.

The Reading School District is under severe financial stress. In June, 2012, it laid off 110 teachers, 66 teaching assistants, 24 clerical workers, 12 security guards, eight maintenance and custodial workers, seven administrators and six administrative support employees.. The district increased class size and closed one under enrolled elementary school. In 2009, the district opened four sixth grade magnet schools – Communications and Technology, Agriculture, Science and Ecology, Business and World Languages, and Performing Arts. The schools were abolished at the end of the 2011-12 school year. Sixth graders were moved to the middle schools.

Dr.Carlinda Purcell was hired, with a five year contract as superintendent in March 2012. She had recently resigned under a cloud of controversy from the Montgomery County School District, in Alabama. She received a $279,000 buy out from that district. Former Superintendent Tom Chapman retired effective Jan. 1, 2011. Assistant Superintendent Frank J. Vecchio served as interim superintendent until July 2012. Dr. J. Drue Miles was named acting superintendent on a temporary basis following Vecchio's retirement until April 2012 when Purcell was hired.

Reading School District administrative costs per pupil in 2008 was $547.79 per pupil. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association collects and maintains statistics on salaries of public school district employees in Pennsylvania. According to the association's report, 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. According to PSBA, the median Superintendent salary rose to over $130,000 in 2011.

Per pupil spending In 2008, Reading School District administration reported that per pupil spending was $9,573. In 2010 the per pupil spending had increased to $12,559.37 Among the states, Pennsylvania’s total per pupil revenue (including all sources) ranked 11th at $15,023 per student, in 2008-09. In 2007, the Pennsylvania per pupil total expenditures was $12,759. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Pennsylvania spent $8,191 per pupil in school year year 2000-01.

Reserves In 2008, Reading School District reported a balance of $8,414,442 in an unreserved-designated fund. The unreserved-undesignated fund balance was reported as $12,571,852. In 2010, Reading School District Administration reported an increase to $20,357,558 in the unreserved-undesignated fund balance and the reserved-undesignated fund balance was $8,414,442. Pennsylvania public school district reserve funds are divided into two categories – designated and undesignated. The undesignated funds are not committed to any planned project. Designated funds and any other funds, such as capital reserves, are allocated to specific projects. School districts are required by state law to keep 5 percent of their annual spending in the undesignated reserve funds to preserve bond ratings. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, from 2003 to 2010, as a whole, Pennsylvania school districts amassed nearly $3 billion in reserved funds.

Tuition rates Students who live in the District's attendance area may choose to attend one of Pennsylvania's 157 public charter schools. A student living in a neighboring public school district or a foreign exchange student may seek admission to Reading School District. For these cases, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sets an annual tuition rate for each school district. It is the amount the public school district pays to a charter school for each resident student that attends the charter and it is the amount a nonresident student's parents must pay to attend the District's schools. The 2012 tuition rates, for Reading School District, are Elementary School - $7,566.32, High School - $8,991.66.

Audit In January 2012, the Pennsylvania Auditor General conducted a performance audit of the District. Significant findings were reported to the Reading School Board and the District’s administration. Its audit of professional employees’ certifications and assignments found that 14 individuals were teaching without proper certification, including administrators.

Reading School District is funded by a combination of: a local earned income tax 1.5%, a property tax, a real estate transfer tax 0.5%, coupled with substantial funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government. Interest earnings on accounts also provide nontax income to the district. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pension income and Social Security income are exempted from state personal income tax and local earned income tax, regardless of the level of the individual’s personal wealth.