Budget and taxes Wyoming Valley West School District

1 budget , taxes

1.1 state basic education funding

1.1.1 accountability block grants
1.1.2 classrooms future grant


1.2 federal stimulus grant

1.2.1 race top grant


1.3 common cents state initiative
1.4 real estate taxes

1.4.1 act 1 adjusted index
1.4.2 property tax relief

budget , taxes

in 2008, district reported $2,399,470 in unreserved-undesignated fund balance. designated fund balance reported zero.

in 2007, district employed on 300 teachers. average teacher salary in district $55,685 180 instructional days worked.

in 2009, district reported employing on 360 teachers salary range of $41,580 $112,303 , median teacher salary of $63,256. more 100 teachers earn on $60,000 per year. teachers work 7 hours 30 minutes per day 30 min lunch period , daily prep period. in addition salary, teachers compensation includes: health insurance, life insurance, 3 days paid bereavement leave, 1 emergency leave day, 11 paid sick days, 3 personal days, , reimbursement college courses. @ retirement, teachers receive payment or $55/day each unused sick day, taxpayer funded health insurance until age 65 , 75% of last year s salary bonus. teachers receive compensation additional duties , extracurricular advising , sports coaching. teachers union officers receive time off pay attend union business , attend conventions.

in 2008, wyoming valley west school district reported spending $9,911 per pupil. ranked 481st among 500 school districts, in commonwealth.

wyoming valley west school district administrative costs per pupil in 2008 $469.66 in 2008. ranked 496th in pennsylvania public schools. lowest administrative cost per pupil in pennsylvania $398 per pupil.

in 2009, district reported having on $6 million in outstanding debt.

in january 2010, pennsylvania auditor general conducted performance audit of district. findings reported school board , school district administration

the district funded combination of: local earned income tax, property tax, real estate transfer tax of 0.5%, coupled substantial funding commonwealth of pennsylvania , federal government. grants can provide opportunity supplement school funding without raising local taxes. in commonwealth of pennsylvania, pension income , social security income exempted state personal income tax , local earned income tax regardless of individual s level of wealth.

state basic education funding

for 2010-11 school year, state basic education funding wyoming valley west school district increased 9.59% total of $19,825,685. highest increase in luzerne county awarded hazleton area school district @ 12,61%. sixteen pennsylvania school districts received increase on 10%. 1 hundred fifty pennsylvania school districts received base 2% increase. among pennsylvania school districts, highest increase in 2010-11 went kennett consolidated school district in chester county received 23.65% increase in state funding. amount of increase each school district receives determined governor , secretary of education through allocation set in state budget proposal made in february each year.

for 2009–2010 budget year commonwealth of pennsylvania provided 6.72% increase in basic education funding wyoming valley west school district total of $18,090,614. state basic education funding district in 2008-09 $16,951,193.76. highest increase in bef school districts in luzerne county awarded hazleton area school district @ 13.36% increase. highest increase in pennsylvania went muhlenberg school district of berks county received increase of 22.31 percent. sixteen school districts received increase in funding of on 10 percent in 2009.

in 2009, district reported 2,186 students eligible federal free or reduced-price lunch due low family income.

accountability block grants

beginning in 2004–2005, state launched accountability block grant school funding. program has provided $1.5 billion pennsylvania’s school districts. accountability block grant program requires taxpayer dollars focused on specific interventions increase student academic achievement. these interventions include: teacher training, all-day kindergarten, lower class size k-3rd grade, literacy , math coaching programs provide teachers individualized job-embedded professional development improve instruction, before or after school tutoring assistance struggling students, 2010-11 wyoming valley west school district applied , received $858,753 in addition other state , federal funding. district used funding provide all-day kindergarten sixth year , improve science instruction.

classrooms future grant

the classroom future state program provided districts hundreds of thousands of state funding buy laptop computers each core curriculum high school class (english, science, history, math) , paid teacher training optimize computers use. program funded 2006 2009. wyoming valley west school district did not apply funding in 2006-07. in 2007-08, received $367,050. district received $65,488 in 2008-09 total funding of $432,538.

federal stimulus grant

wyoming valley west school district received $5,614,027 in arra - federal stimulus money used in specific programs special education , meeting academic needs of low-income students.

race top grant

school district officials made incomplete application race top federal grant have brought district several million additional federal dollars improving student academic achievement. teachers union not agreed support effort. participation required administration, school board , local teachers union sign agreement prioritize improving student academic success. in pennsylvania, 120 public school districts , 56 charter schools agreed participate. pennsylvania not approved grant. failure of majority of school districts agree participate cited 1 reason pennsylvania not approved.

common cents state initiative

the wyoming valley west school board decided not participate in pennsylvania department of education common cents program. program called state audit district, @ no cost local taxpayers, identify ways district save tax dollars. after review of information, district not required implement recommended cost savings changes.

real estate taxes

the school board levied real estate tax of 12.7000 mills in 2010-11. mill $1 of tax every $1,000 of property s assessed value. irregular property reassessments have become serious issue in commonwealth creates significant disparity in taxation within community , across region. on local level, pennsylvania district revenues dominated 2 main sources: 1) property tax collections, account vast majority (between 75-85%) of local revenues; , 2) act 511 tax collections, around 15% of revenues school districts.

2009-10 - 12.4000 mills

in 2008, luzerne county conducted county wide property value reassessment. previous county wide assessment had been done in 1965

2008-09 - 296.0000 mills

act 1 adjusted index

the act 1 of 2006 index regulates rates @ each school district can raise property taxes in pennsylvania. districts not allowed raise taxes above index unless allow voters vote referendum, or seek exception state department of education. base index 2011–2012 school year 1.4 percent, act 1 index can adjusted higher, depending on number of factors, such property values , personal income of district residents. act 1 included 10 exceptions, including: increasing pension costs, increases in special education costs, catastrophe fire or flood, increase in health insurance costs contracts in effect in 2006 or dwindling tax bases. base index average of percentage increase in statewide average weekly wage, determined pa department of labor , industry, preceding calendar year , percentage increase in employment cost index elementary , secondary schools, determined bureau of labor statistics in u.s. department of labor, previous 12-month period ending june 30. school district market value/personal income aid ratio (mv/pi ar) greater 0.4000, index equals base index multiplied sum of .75 , mv/pi ar current year.

the school district adjusted index wyoming valley west school district 2006–2007 through 2011–2012.

2006-07 - 5.3%, base 3.9%
2007-08 - 4.7%, base 3.4%
2008-09 - 6.1%, base 4.4%
2009-10 - 5.7%, base 4.1%
2010-11 - 4.0%, base 2.9%
2011-12 - 2.0%, base 1.4%

the wyoming valley west school board did not apply exceptions exceed act 1 index budget in 2011. in spring of 2010, 135 of 500 pennsylvania school boards asked exceed adjusted index. approval granted 133 of them , 128 sought exception pension costs increases.

property tax relief

in 2011, homestead/farmstead property tax relief gambling wyoming valley west school district $145 per approved permanent primary residence. in district, 10,785 property owners applied tax relief. in 2011 within luzerne county, highest reported amount went wilkes-barre area school district set @ $211 per approved homestead. property tax relief subtracted total annual school property tax bill each property. property owners apply relief through county treasurer s office. farmers can qualify farmstead exemption on building used agricultural purposes. farm must @ least 10 contiguous acres , must primary residence of owner. farmers can qualify both homestead exemption , farmstead exemption. pennsylvania awarded highest property tax relief residents of chester-upland school district in delaware county @ $641 per homestead , farmstead in 2010. cusd given $632 in 2009. third year top recipient.

2010 - $145 10,812 properties
2009 - $145 10,818 properties

property taxes in pennsylvania relatively high on national scale. according tax foundation, pennsylvania ranked 11th in u.s. in 2008 in terms of property taxes paid percentage of home value (1.34%) , 12th in country in terms of property taxes percentage of income (3.55%).