ORWIGSBURG - Furloughs, fewer class periods and larger class sizes are possibilities the Blue Mountain School District is facing as it confronts its 2013-14 budget with a $1.4 million deficit.
About 150 people attended a public budget meeting that lasted about two hours Thursday at Blue Mountain Middle School.
In introducing the budget, Superintendent Robert Urzillo warned that the school district's options would be difficult to hear.
"What you'll see tonight is not a rosy picture," Urzillo said, standing in front of the crowd.
As it stands now, the district has revenues projected at $37,238,475 and expenses at $38,655,880.
The Act 1 index for the district is 0.79 mills. Raising taxes that amount would generate $393,420 and result in an increase of $41.55 for a homeowner with a home assessed at $52,600, the average in the district, Business Administrator Michelle Diekow said.
The school board had decided previously not to exceed the Act 1 index.
"The reason we're here tonight is we want to be completely transparent," Diekow said.
The district is facing increasing costs in pensions, health care and contractual obligations, Urzillo said.
In order to balance the budget, the district is considering three scenarios.
"Our goal is to get to next year without any program cuts, without any personnel cuts except though attrition. However, that may not be possible," he said. "Everything that I'm going to talk about now are options. They're on the table. Nothing has been decided."
He then went into three scenarios in which the district could save money.
- The first option would keep the traditional schedule at all schools but reduce two elementary teaching positions through attrition. Those changes would be in the fifth grade. Class sizes at both elementary schools would increase by a few students, Urzillo said, and seven teachers would be lost through attrition at the high school and middle school.
- The second option would implement a seven-period day instead of nine periods at the high school and middle school. The elementary school schedule would remain the same. A total of 14 teaching positions would be lost - seven through furloughs and seven through attrition at the middle and high schools.
- In the third option, over a two-year time frame starting with the upcoming school year, 13 teachers could be lost through "curtailment or alteration of programs" Urzillo said. "It may be through attrition. It may be through furlough. We don't know ... this would be in such areas as guidance, music, health and physical education, library, world languages, family and consumer sciences, art and business," Urzillo said, adding that programs would not be eliminated but "curtailed."
The school district must have an approved budget by June 30.
"Why are we in this situation in the first place?" asked Collin Boris, 17, a junior in the district.
Urzillo said the district is facing rising costs along with fluctuating state funding.
Students and others offered suggestions on how the district could save money. Students also were not in favor of losing their extracurricular class if class periods decreased to seven.
Urzillo and others said they welcomed the comments.
Greg Stewart, a borough resident, said the district is in a tough situation.
"We are definitely going through some hard times," he said.
After the meeting, school board President Mary Jo Moss would not comment about a possible tax increase or what decision the board would make to alleviate the deficit.
"The whole board will discuss that and make the decision," she said, adding that the issues confronting the district are not easy.