No Tax Increase in Moon Area School District Preliminary Budget

The Moon Area School Board approved a preliminary budget for the 2013-2014 school year that includes no tax increase. 

The $69.1 million spending plan includes $64.4 million in appropriations and a $4.7 million fund balance. Board members approved the budget in a 9-to-0 vote. 

Last week, the board rejected a version of the budget that included a tax increase, which would have enabled the district to cover a $2.5 million budget shortfall in the document. 

Alan Bennett, district director of fiscal services, said the budget does not account for potential staffing changes, including furloughs. 

"This budget is not based on a detailed line-item budget—it's based on trends and estimates," Bennett said. "There is no specific salary budget, with or without furloughs." 

School board members cautioned that the budget is still a working document. By law, Pennsylvania school districts must approve a final budget by the end of June. 

The preliminary budget will be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for approval. 

"It's the very beginning; it's a technicality that has to take place," said board member Laura Schisler of the budget.  

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