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After receiving an unexpected $8.5 million in additional state revenue than what was budgeted for earlier this year, the Altoona Area School District now finds itself with about a $3.1 million surplus instead of a $4.9 million shortfall.
The board raised taxes by 3% in June to cover the expected deficit, not knowing exact numbers from the state until Harrisburg passed its own budget.
With other factors taken into consideration, such as a $1.2 million potential cost avoidance through funding Altoona Area's RISE program at the Stevens Building, the district now has an available contingency of slightly less than $3.1 million.
The RISE program, Superintendent Brad Hatch said, was created so the district could provide education and resources for high-needs students at a less expensive cost rather than outsourcing them to private institutions.
In order to operate the program, Hatch said the district spent about $1 million to hire staff, get a venue and all the supplies and materials necessary to be able to do it.
However, Altoona Area will save in the long run, as sending a student to Soaring Heights School, for example, would cost anywhere from $40,000 to $75,000 with transportation and other related services, Hatch said.
"By utilizing our own programming, 20 to 25 students can save us $1 (million) to $1.5 million," Hatch said.
Business manager Sue Franks said the nearly $3.1 million contingency will go into the district's fund balance, which will either give the district an opportunity to build up its fund balance or be used for any unforeseen circumstances throughout the school year, she said.
If the district has more expenditures for cyber charter tuition, if other students have to go to outside placements or if the district has to hire a bunch of people, the money could be used, Franks said.
"We don't know what's going to happen," Franks said. "(If) we had a calamity or something like that, this gives (the district) money that I can cover if we have more expenditures."
The district's state funding increased about $667,000 for basic education, about $254,000 for special education and about $7.3 million for Ready to Learn over what was originally budgeted. While basic and special education can be used to cover regular expenses, Ready to Learn is a restricted block grant that requires the funding to be used for specific areas.
District officials said they plan to use the Ready to Learn funds to cover existing wages, structured literacy curriculum, its ABC kindergarten readiness camp and summer school programs and the district's tuition cost for students to study at the Great Altoona Career and Technology Center.
In other business during Monday's committee of the whole meeting, the board discussed a potential Mansion Park Field engineering project, which includes turfing the baseball field at Mansion Park and other athletic improvements at the nearby Centennial Field and Columbia Park -- adding seating, lighting, fencing, a press box and restroom facilities.
Buildings and Grounds Director Trevor Robinson presented the board with two rough construction estimates for the proposed renovations: $6.8 million from Stiffler McGraw and $10.2 million from Weber Murphy Fox.
Both estimates include renovations to all three fields, and those costs can be broken down individually, district officials said.
Hatch said adding artificial turf would solve a lot of issues at Mansion Park Field. By upgrading the facility, it has the potential to generate revenue for the district, he said.
Board member David Francis raised questions about the field's utilization and whether the money would be well spent, adding officials will have to drop some of the prices.
Hatch said the estimates are as expensive as they can be because they include a complete full-scale renovation of all three fields. The costs associated with each field can be adjusted once the board has recommended some options, he said.
Once the board has determined whether the district should pursue minimal or maximum renovations, Hatch said they would then put out a formal request for proposals for the project, which could happen as early as the board's November meeting.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.