Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The Upper St. Clair School Board crunched the numbers and examined their budget options Monday night.
If the Upper St. Clair School Board does not raise taxes by 1.5 mills for the 2012-13 school year, they may be looking at dramatically reducing school bus service for the 2013-14 school year. Business Director Frosina Cordisco presented the numbers and options to the school board Monday night at a meeting. The school board must pass a preliminary budget next Monday and a final budget on June 20. With no tax increase this year, there is a projected $890,000 budget shortfall. If the board raises taxes by the Act 1 index, which is .41 mills this year, they're looking at a $217,000 deficit. The increase would be equivalent to $82 per $200,000 of assessed home value. If the board raises taxes by 1.5 mills, there would be a $1.5 million surplus…
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The latest news from the Upper St. Clair School Board.
The Upper St. Clair School District is researching what—if any—classrooms it can increase in size to save money on staffing. Administrators presented information to the school board Monday night. "We're not talking about increasing class size because we want to, but because we might need to," said Rebecca Stern, school board president. A class size policy adopted in 1967 and last revised in 1986 recommends maximum class sizes for kindergarten and first grade be 25 students, 27 in second grade, 30 in grades three through 12, with an exception to keep class size at 25 for advanced and AP classes. However, assistant Superintendent Sharon Suritsky said, "We're asking teachers to do more than when the policy was last revised in '86." In 2006, …
Friday, March 23, 2012
The board will vote on how to pay for a $462,640 shortfall.
The Upper St. Clair School Board is expected to vote at their next meeting Monday on how to pay for the $462,640 shortfall they've encountered during the middle schools renovation project. "Had we not used $632,000 of bond proceeds to pay for interest, we wouldn't have this shortfall," said Frosina Cordisco, the district's business manager. In August 2009, the board approved $60 million in bonds for construction. Two and a half years later, the construction crews are putting together the final punch list to complete project details. The Fort Couch Middle School athletic field will be operational by fall, according to John Bornyas, the retired director of operations, community relations and special projects who is now working under contract…
Thursday, November 17, 2011
John Bornyas, director of operations, community relations and special projects, gave a middle school renovations update to the school board.
John Bornyas, director of operations, community relations and special projects, gave a middle school renovations update to the Upper St. Clair School Board on Monday night. Barbara Bolas, a school director, said she had been hearing from residents that a lot of work still isn't complete at Boyce Middle School. Dr. Bornyas assured her and the other board members that 92 percent of the work is complete. He said the gym floor has been a cause of the delay and he hopes the floor can be finished in November. Dr. Bornyas also said the construction wrap-up will be evident once crews finish Boyce Middle's front facade. Boyce Middle School: Construction in October 2011: •Completed gymnasium wall and ceiling patching •Completed gymnasium ceiling …
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Boyce and Fort Couch Middle School renovations are nearly complete.
The Boyce and Fort Couch Middle School renovations are nearly complete, however, the gym at Boyce will not be ready for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Upper St. Clair residents received a postcard in the mail last week inviting them to see the final products on Saturday, Oct. 22. John Bornyas, director of operations, community relations and special projects, told the school board on Monday night that it will take another two to three weeks for the gym at Boyce to be completed. Construction crews found expanding material material underneath the old gym floor this summer which set the project back about 16 weeks, according to Bornyas. Other work that still needs to be finished at Boyce includes some rooms around the gym and the front canapy. …
Becky Brindle
4:44 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
From my understanding at the meeting, a cut in transportation wouldn't be because of increased costs. It would be because there are no other costs to cut in the school district since teachers can't be furloughed for two years. more ›