Southern Columbia Area School District - Budget

Budget

In 2007, the district employed 212 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $47,981 for 180 days worked. Additionally, the teachers receive a defined benefit pension, health insurance, professional development reimbursement, paid personal days, paid sick days, life insurance, retirement bonus and other benefits. According to Rep. Glen Grell, a trustee of the state teacher retirement fund, a 40-year Pennsylvania public school educator can retire with a pension equal to 100 percent of their final salary. In September 2010, the board approved a three year contract with the teachers' union. It gives the teachers a salary increase of 3.3 percent for the current school year - averaging a raise of $1,700 each for the length of the contract. In the 2011-12 teachers will receive a 3.19% raise. For the 2012-13 school year they receive another 3.09 percent increase. The contract will cost the taxpayers an additional $200,000 a year. Additionally, single teachers will pay between $1,173 and $1,500 for health insurance, depending on the plan they chose through the CSIU trust. The district will pay the rest of the bill of either $4,652 to $6,000. Teachers with families will pay between $2,706 and $3,723 with the school paying either $10,824 or $14,892, depending on the plan chosen.

Southern Columbia Area School District administrative costs per pupil was $618.92 in 2008. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil.

In 2007, the average teacher salary in the district was $47,981 for 187 days worked, 180 teaching days. In 2011 the teachers' union rejected a one year salary freeze as a part of balancing the budget for 2011-2012.

In 2008, the administration reported that the district per pupil spending was $10,666. This ranked 426th among Pennsylvania's 500 school districts.

Reserves In 2008, the district reported an unreserved designated fund balance of zero and an unreserved-undesignated fund balance of $1,514,763.

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

The district is funded by a combination of: a local earned income tax, a local real property tax, a real estate transfer tax - 0.5%, and a per capita tax, coupled with substantial funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government. Grants 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 of the individual's level of wealth.