OCTOBER 2015 Volume 2, Issue 4 Pennsylvania Association of School Business O Cials
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v o l PA Association of School Business O cials PRESORTED ume 2,issue PO Box 6993 STANDARD MAIL Harisburg, PA 17112-6993 U.S. POSTAGE Address Service Requested PAID HARRISBURG, PA PERMIT NO. 77 4 1 P ennsylv ania AssociationofSchoolBusinessO OC T OBER 2015 cials October 2015 PASBO BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT PASBO Report Table of Contents Wanda M. Erb, PRSBA Published monthly by the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials PRESIDENT-ELECT Feature Article Curtis O. Richards, PRSBA Plan for the Unexpected .........................................................................................................2 VICE PRESIDENT Edward G. Poprik, PRSBO Officer’s Message Consider a Reeser Nomination .............................................................................................4 IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Stan H. Wisler, PRSBA Legislative Report DIRECTORS “Silly Season” is Upon Us .........................................................................................................5 Randall S. Buffington, PRSBA Joni Mansmann, PRSBA Staff Insights Robert E. Saul, PRSBA Come to Chocolatetown in March! .....................................................................................6 Jaclin B. Krumrine, CPA Research Articles and Tips Margaret M. McMinn, PRSBO Congratulations to PASBO’s Wilkes Graduates .............................................................12 Matthew Przywara, CPA, PRSBA Delinquent Real Estate Tax Collections - Know Your Options ...................................9 Mark Brooks, PRSBA Does the New School Year Mean New Faces? ..............................................................14 John J. Hurst, CPA, PRSBA Hiring An Independent Contractor - BEWARE! ............................................................10 Brent A. Kessler, PRSBA Membership Matters - You Can Help Someone Get It FREE! .....................................7 New to PASBO? Apply for a Conference Scholarship! ...............................................15 Obeying School Bus Laws and Watching for Kids .........................................................7 PASBO STAFF Retirement in the PASBO Office ...........................................................................................5 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Changing Face of th School Technology Department ........................................8 Jay Himes, CAE, [email protected] Two PASBO Members Earn CEQs .........................................................................................6 ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Upcoming PASBO Workshops ............................................................................................12 Corrine W. Shearer, CAE, [email protected] Transitions DIRECTOR OF MEMBER ASSISTANCE Calendar .....................................................................................................................................16 Jeffrey S. Ammerman, PRSBA, Employment .............................................................................................................................17 [email protected] Member News .........................................................................................................................17 DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION New Members .........................................................................................................................16 Jane S. Hack, CMP, [email protected] In Each Issue DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY Colleague to Colleague ........................................................................................................15 Hannah Barrick, [email protected] Membership Corner .................................................................................................................6 INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER Social Media Stats ..................................................................................................................14 Andrew R. Rucker, [email protected] COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Suzanne K. Yorty, [email protected] EVENTS AND EXHIBITS COORDINATOR Karen T. Rogers, CMP, [email protected] FINANCE COORDINATOR Thomas P. Inners, [email protected] MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR Business Members - Interested in advertising? See information on page 4. Matthew Q. Wingfield, [email protected] MEMBER ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR Lynn L. Bubb, [email protected] PASBO’s mission: Creating great schools by developing outstanding PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT school leaders and providing responsive school business solutions COORDINATOR Kimberly A. Pierich, [email protected] MEMBERSHIP ASSOCIATE PASBO Report is the official publication of the Pennsylvania Association of School Stephanie E. Stehman, [email protected] Business Officials. The publication is intended to inform and educate its readers about policy and technical issues related to school business management. Submit articles for publication to PASBO c/o Communications Manager, ([email protected]). Articles GENERAL COUNSEL will not be returned and are subject to review, approval and editing prior to publica- Clarence C. Kegel, Jr., Esq., Attorney tion. Unless otherwise stated in the article, the views and opinions of the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the positions of PASBO. Articles appearing in PASBO Report may be reprinted with permission of PASBO. October 2015 2 PEPPM for TECHNOLOGY and KPN for EVERYTHING ELSE Either Way... PEPPM KPN Save Time and Money on Quality Products Schools, government agencies and other nonprofit institutions can save time and money by piggybacking on quality contracts from KPN and PEPPM. All contracts are publicly and competitively bid and awarded. www.peppm.org www.theKPN.org (855) 654-5290 (888) 490-3182 • Computers, Tablets and Notebooks • Athletic Surfaces • Commercial Flooring • Printers, Copiers, Peripherals and Supplies • Furniture • Kitchen Equipment • Vehicles • Physical Security • Computer Furniture • Modulars • Document Management • Software • Networking • Audio/Video • Cleaning Equipment • Library Supplies Over 1.5 Million Items Meeting All Operational Needs Quality Products ~ Excellent Services ~ Competitive Pricing 1 October 2015 FEATURE ARTICLE PASBO’s Perspective on the Six Reasons Why this Budget State Budget Gridlock is Not A Surprise With a state budget that is now more than three months #1—The conventional wisdom in the Capitol when a new overdue, many school districts, CTCs and IUs across the state are Governor comes to town says the new administration needs to struggling to continue their operations in the absence of state take a big swing immediately. New governors want to set the tone and federal dollars. As a result of the delayed state budget, school for their four years and using an election victory as momentum districts and IUs have already borrowed over $346 million, accord- for putting new initiatives in place is not uncommon. In 2003, the ing to the Auditor General’s office, a number that will continue to Governor Ed Rendell had a budget that was not finalized until increase through October if the budget is not resolved. December (the one significant difference was that the unresolved While there is no excuse for the budget impasse, perhaps the budget issues were focused only on the Basic Education Funding most egregious aspect of the stalemate is the fact that federal line item since he blue-lined his first budget from the General As- dollars are prohibited from flowing. Pennsylvania requires federal sembly instead of vetoing it in its entirety as did Governor Wolf). funds to be appropriated in a state budget each year; therefore, Moreover, the second year of a new administration is greeted by the veto of the entire budget back in June prevents the depart- legislative elections, which means more controversial issues get ment from releasing any of the federal funds it is holding—which tossed aside until after the election cycle. Finally, a new governor includes $457 million in IDEA funding and $625 million in Title I wants the benefit of his priorities to extend to all four years not funding. be put into place at the end of the four year term. Giving in like- Federal dollars have no impact on the state revenue conver- ly means a long wait for a new governor; holding firm for your sations that are currently at the center of the budget standoff, as priorities means a long wait for a budget. no increase, expansion or status quo of state taxes will change #2—Speaking of elections, last November’s statewide elec- the federal appropriations one iota. Additionally, these federal tion produced an unusual result—an overwhelming victory for dollars have already been shipped to Pennsylvania, so they are a Democrat handing a defeat to a Republican incumbent for the just accumulating interest and waiting to be distributed. Finally, first time since the state Constitution was amended to impose these federal dollars are generally targeted to many of the school a two-term limit in 1967. At the same time, the electorate also districts that are struggling the most without a budget. Those produced a much more conservative General Assembly with Re- districts that have a high proportion of state funding and a high publicans in the House and Senate gaining seats. Consequently, number of students living in poverty are the most adversely im- any Democrat was going to face a more difficult uphill battle pacted by the budget chaos. on any issue where battle lines were drawn on a partisan basis. For these reasons, PASBO has sent a letter to Governor Wolf Certainly, budget priorities can be extremely partisan as we are