East Penn Superintendent Proposes Cost Cutting Measures

It could be an understatement to say times are tough for East Penn School District when the superintendent suggests saving money on textbooks.

But that’s what Superintendent Dr. Thomas Seidenberger proposed at Monday’s school board meeting. In fact, he tallied up about $1 million in savings by also chipping away at cell phone bills and postage costs.

District officials are reeling from Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed cuts to public education. So much so, that one school board director Monday night called Corbett’s plan “criminal.”

The proposed cuts in state subsidies to East Penn include $391,000 in reduced social security reimbursements and $545,000 in reduced reimbursements for charter school expenses.

In order to cover those losses, school districts across the state have to pull the money from somewhere else. The problem for East Penn, Seidenberger said, is that it’s very difficult to cut fat from the district’s budget because only 12 percent of the budget is discretionary.

The district even asked residents for ideas on raising revenue and reducing expenses through an online survey.

Some of those ideas made their way onto the superintendent’s list too (attached). He proposed to raise tuition for adult education classes to bring in an additional $5,000, and sending students with discipline problems to less expensive alternative schools could save $20,000.

The district will also consider charging a parking fee to students who drive to school. Most other local districts charge fees ranging from $5 to $50 per vehicle, per year, he said.

The district is “very excited” about its plans next year to begin replacing paper report cards and other paper notices to parents with electronic reports, Seidenberger said, which will save about $18,000 in postage and printing costs.

Taking away district cell phones from administrators and making them use their own cell phones would save about $35,000, he said, and reducing new textbook purchases could save $106,000.

Seidenberger gave additional ideas for saving money or increasing revenues in the future. These involve the construction of a district-owned solar energy facility, reducing after-school bus transportation and charging students for summer school.

“We can’t educate kids twice without some kind of cost,”’ he told the board March 14.

The district is also investigating the possibility of selling advertising on the school’s web page, as some other districts are doing, he said.

“It’s something we might want to look at in generating alternative revenue.”

Of course, there is also the more common cut. Eliminating one administrative position would save $109,000, Seidenberger said, and using $487,000 in bond proceeds to pay debt service rather than holding it as capital reserves would help offset some expenses.

The district may also save money through attrition [we're going] to try our wings on with less people," Seidenberger said. And according to Debra Surdoval, the district's business manager, East Penn can save about $107,000 by replacing retiring teachers with new, less experienced ones.

The East Penn School Board has until May 31 to adopt a final 2011-2012 budget.