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Uniontown Area School Directors discuss loan in light of state budget impasse

By Natalie Bruzda nbruzda@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read

Uniontown Area school directors discussed on Tuesday the impact the state budget impasse is having on the district’s own spending plan.

Business Manager Jill Regan reported that the board will have to consider opening up a line of credit with a bank at its Jan. 4 meeting if a state budget is not passed by that point.

Regan said the district will rely on its $6 million fund balance to make payroll payments in December and January.

“Then we’re done,” Regan said. “The reason Uniontown is in the place that we are, and the reason we’ll be able to make it to January, is because we have a fund balance. If we didn’t have a fund balance, we would have already borrowed money months ago. Without the fund balance, you would have been making this decision in October.”

According to Regan, there is no more property tax money expected to come in.

Regan said she reached out to the Pennsylvania School District Liquid Asset Fund and learned that the district is eligible for a $4.5 million line of credit. The district would have to pay $2,500 up front to get the loan, and would pay 1.5 percent interest, but only on what the district borrows.

She said the district could borrow money in $500,000 increments.

“There are already county schools that are in trouble, that have already borrowed once, and now they may have to borrow again,” Vice President Dorothy Grahek said.

School Director Susan Clay said she’s worried the proposed state budget will reduce the property tax.

“Since I’ve been on the board, the state has taken more and more power away from the school districts,” Clay said. “The state does not set property tax. The school district sets property tax. We don’t have enough money from the state now to run the school districts — what are they doing to us? They’re taking everything away from us. We need to start talking to legislators. We need to start changing things and going back to the way it was.”

Also Monday, the board approved to hold a buildings and grounds committee meeting on Dec. 17 to discuss the possibility of providing building-wide air conditioning at Franklin, Menallen, Wharton, Marclay and A.J. McMullen schools.

The district recently received a proposal from Dodson Engineering, stating it would cost about $2.1 million to outfit those buildings with air conditioning.

Superintendent Dr. Charles Machesky said there is not enough money in the district’s construction fund to cover that amount. Regan said the district would have to consider a capital projects loan.

The board agreed in September to seek a proposal from Dodson Engineering after hearing several concerns from parents about the heat students and teachers were enduring in the classrooms.

Clay said she believes the board owes is to the students and parents to have a meeting and discuss the possibility.

Turning to other matters, Vice President Dorothy Grahek requested that the administration research and prepare a district-wide policy providing guidelines and requirements for equitable celebrations of holiday parties. Grahek is requesting the policy to include the types of snacks that can be provided which fulfill the requirements of the school lunch guidelines, while ensuring that all students are provided the opportunity to celebrate the occasions in a similar matter. She asked that the superintendent present the policy to the board at its regular meeting on Jan. 4.

In other business, the board:

n Approved Act 1 of the 2006 Taxpayer Relief Act Resolution, meaning, the board cannot raise property taxes above the Act 1 Index, which is set by the state.

n Hired Brandon Granato as a elementary teacher assigned to fifth grade at Menallen School at level two Bachelor’s, as per the negotiated agreement with the Uniontown Area Education Association, effective Dec. 7.

n Added Paul Edward Cramer to the professional substitute list at $100 per day.

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