SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock school board members on Monday adopted the final budget for 2012-13 without raising taxes, but it took them four tries to reach that decision.

They ultimately voted in favor of balancing the budget by dipping into the general fund. The issue at the center of the lengthy discussion was how to make up the $377,000 deficit without hitting the taxpayers too hard or affecting the students.

"Take it all from the general fund and don't increase the tax," board member David Hutner said, making the first suggestion to keep property taxes at 89.15 mills.

The district has $5.68 million in the general fund and about $1.5 million in its capital reserve account, said the Rev. Michael Scheer, board president.

Keep in mind two positions were already eliminated to help trim the budget of $28,223,445, he said, referring to the assistant middle school elementary and full-time Spanish teacher posts that were cut June 4.

No one was laid off - a few retirees aren't being replaced and several people are being reassigned to fill the remaining positions.

"I think we are very prudent," Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Nogay said of making staff changes without having to furlough anyone.

If the board wipes out the deficit with the general fund alone, they'll somehow have to make up that $377,000 over the next school year, Scheer said.

Board member Polly Shaw agreed, saying if no tax hike is adopted, that could mean a large tax increase this time next year.

"This is very frustrating," Hutner said.

Hutner then made a motion to use the general fund to cover the deficit and not raise taxes. The motion failed after the board tied 4 to 4.

Scheer, Shaw, Kenneth Speer and Diana Wolak voted no and Harry Beil, Hutner, Kirby Lotz and Dr. Mark Mraz voted yes. Board member S. Diane Gieraltowski was absent.

In round two, Shaw motioned for a 1.5-mill tax hike, which would bring in about $200,000, and take the remaining $177,000 from the general fund to cover the deficit.

That motion also failed with a deadlocked board: Hutner, Lotz, Mraz and Speer opposed, while Shaw, Scheer, Wolak and Beil voted yes.

The third time around, Beil proposed a 1-mill tax increase, equal to about $128,000 with $249,000 coming from the general fund. That vote mirrored the second, with the same members voting yes and no.

Speer then said he "had a change of heart" on how he voted for the first motion to balance the budget by not raising taxes and taking $377,000 from the general fund.

"I want to vote differently," he said.

He made a fourth motion, same as the first, and it passed 5 to 3. Speer, Beil, Hutner, Lotz and Mraz voted yes, and Scheer, Shaw and Wolak voted no.

There was no talk of how much state funding the district will receive since the Pennsylvania Legislature has yet to pass its budget, Paul Cessar, business manager and board secretary, said after the meeting.

Board members were also deadlocked on submitting renovation plans for the high school and Moraine Elementary to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for review and approval.

Lotz, head of the operations committee, had suggested the board vote on the measure a few months sooner than he planned because PDE might be considering putting a moratorium on reimbursing public schools for renovations.

The district could be reimbursed up to almost $7 million for renovations, a project that includes all five school buildings with costs ranging from $290,000 to $40.3 million per building, depending on which options board members choose in the coming months.

The high school and Moraine are the only buildings eligible for reimbursement.

Submitting the paperwork now would mean spending up to $40,000 to have HHSDR Architects/Engineers, Sharon, prepare the plans for PDE, Lotz said.

"We're gambling so to speak," he said, adding there's no guarantee PDE will approve the moratorium nor will taxpayers pass a referendum on the fall ballot to help pay for the renovations.

The motion failed when Mraz, Scheer, Wolak and Beil voted no and Lotz, Hutner, Shaw and Speer voted yes.

The next step is to start "hashing out" more details to decide how extensive renovations should be, Lotz said after the meeting, adding the board will have to revisit the issue of submitting the plans to the state.

Published June 20, 2012, in Allied News. Pick up a copy at 201 A Erie St., Grove City.