School Budget Revenue at Kiski Area

It should not be a surprise that taxes are the primary means to support a school budget. The source of the taxes may be a surprise - particularly since state and federal support comes with some strings attached.

At Kiski Area from 2000/01 until the most recent budget (2013/14), the average revenue from local, state and federal sources has averaged:

• Local - 46.1%
• State - 50.2%
• Federal - 3.7%

The Federal revenue average is slightly higher because of the extra $1.4 million dollars received for the 2009/2010 school year (probably due to the Federal stimulus package). Even with this one-time windfall the average percentages are about right. The following is the percentage breakdown for 2013/2014.

Effect of Federal Budget Sequestration

At a recent Finance Committee meeting related to the budget, there was discussion about the reduction in Federal support due to sequestration. It even showed up as a headline in the local newspaper. Federal support dropped about 4%, or $69,332. For many of us, a $69,332 decrease in our income would be significant. In a $52 million dollar budget $69,332 is chump change.

It amounts to 14 cents on every hundred dollars of income and pales in comparison to many of the significant cost increases in the budget. The school board can deal with 14 cents per hundred dollars of budget.

Pennsylvania School Budget Support

The bulk of the revenue for Kiski Area comes from the state. But it comes with strings attached in the sense that the state pretty much defines how the money will be spent.  For example, the state provides funding support for social security, medicare and retirement contributions for Kiski Area employees. Also funding support for student transportation costs.

Where does the state get the money? One way or another, taxes.

Local school taxes

The remaining 46% of the budget revenue comes from local taxpayers.

Kiski-Area-Info.com exists because of my frustration with regular increases in my school property taxes. While doing research at the local tax office, I was shocked to learn that not only does Kiski Area get the school property taxes which they control, but that they get all the per-capita tax and ½ of the wage taxes collected by each of the nine municipalities. The school tax on property accounts for about 78% of the total kiski area revenue.

Municipalities in the district operate on the local property tax and half of the 1% wage tax; Kiski Area operates on the other half of the wage tax, all the per-capita tax, and all the school property tax.

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Sources

Information for this page was derived from the Kiski Area Final Budgets as submitted to the PA Department of Education.