REVISED 9/14/20 Please remember to sign the Visitor’s Register – Thank you. Finance Committee Meeting Agenda Monday, September 14, 2020 7:00 P.M. – Virtual PAGE NUMBER 1. Approval of Minutes – Meeting on June 1, 2020 ............................................................ 1 2. Monthly/Year to Date Financial Reports – May, July and August 2020 ..................... 4 3. COVID-19 Impact to Budget ........................................................................................ 141 4. Property Tax Appeals Update 5. Act 1 Index for 2021-2022 6. Back to School Transportation Report – Karen Henry, Transportation Supvr. 7. 2021-2022 Budget Development Calendar .................................................................. 143 8. Capital Sources and Uses .............................................................................................. 148 9. Committee Goals 10. Public Comment The process to submit public comment will be shared at the beginning of the meeting. Public comment on agenda items will be read during the discussion of those items. Any public comment for non-agenda items will be read at the end of the meeting, as time permits. 11. Future Meetings Monday, October 12, 2020 Monday, November 9, 2020 Committee Goals 1. Assist in the formulation and review of the District budget using a budget projection model informed by financial strategies and assumptions approved by the Committee. Identify and review budget impact items. 2. Monitor other district’s Act 1 budget development approaches 3. Review fund balance commitment strategies and analyze the impact for budget development. 4. Identify the District’s finance and budget related information to be communicated to our community residents and work with the District’s communication contact to compose and distribute the information. 5. Support advocacy strategy to promote legislation related to improving the District’s financial and budget situation. 6. Work in conjunction with the Facilities Committee to maintain funding of the capital improvement plan including borrowing strategies. 7. Review District-initiated assessment appeal procedures in light of recent legal developments and monitor other Districts’ appeal procedures. Draft Finance Committee Meeting Minutes June 1, 2020 Virtual Meeting 7:00 P.M. Attending all or part of the meeting: Board Committee Members: Dr. Roberta Hotinski, Chair, Mary Garrett Itin, Stacy Stone, Rev. Scott Dorsey Other Board Members: Michele Burger, Kyle Boyer, Todd Kantorczyk, Sue Tiede and Tina Whitlow T/E School District Representatives: Dr. Rich Gusick, Art McDonnell, Elizabeth Butch, Dr. Chris Groppe, Dr. Mike Szymendera, Dr. Wendy Towle, Mark Cataldi, Brian Reed, Ed Diasio Community Members with Comments: Ray Clarke The June 1, 2020 Finance Committee meeting was conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 social distancing protocol. Approval of Minutes: ● The Committee approved the minutes of the May 12, 2020 meeting. Special Education Report: ● Dr. Groppe provided the report on Special Education spending. Payment to Transportation Contractors: • Mr. McDonnell provided an update on payments to transportation contractors. The District is working with the transportation contractors on an addendum to the current contracts. If an agreement can be reached, the results will be presented at the next Board meeting. Real Estate Tax Bill • There was a review of the tax collection process. The amounts due in the different payment periods and the collection levels in each of these time periods were reviewed. The Board considered changing the penalty amount assessed from 10% to a lower percentage. The financial impact of this change was discussed. The full Board supported changing the penalty amount to 0%. This will provide support to those who are struggling in this extraordinary year. There was discussion about whether the penalty would be assessed on December 31st when turned over for collection. The decision on the penalty amount on December 31st will be discussed further at the June 8 School Board meeting. The Board will take action to lower the penalty amount to 0% at their June 8 School Board meeting. Transfer to Capital Reserve • The 2019-20 Budget included a $1.2 Million transfer from the General Fund to the Capital Reserve budget. This contribution was not funded from current year tax revenue. Current 2019- 1 Draft Finance Committee Meeting Minutes 20 projections, which do not include a capital transfer, anticipate revenues to exceed expenditures by $1.6 Million. There was a review of the committed capital projects and the possible future capital needs which are not represented in the capital spending projections. These future capital needs include a possible new elementary school, technology infrastructure needs and items from the anticipated infrastructure report that will be presented in the fall. The committee is in favor of transferring $1.2 Million from the General Fund to the Capital Reserve Fund. Additional transfers to the Capital Fund will be revisited closer to the closing of the 2019-20 fiscal year. Review of 2020-21 Proposed Final Budget • There was review to the District budget impacts. The largest impact to the District budget is significant historical enrollment growth. The District has experienced an increase in student enrollment of 678 students over a four-year period. Enrollment growth impacts both the operating and capital budgetary needs. The budget strategies taken over the last few years were reviewed. • Mr. McDonnell reviewed the history of the Proposed Final Budget steps. As part of this process, projections for the 2019-20 fiscal year were provided and then updated for the COVID-19 impact. The possible impact of COVID-19 on the 2020-21 budget and the impact on the 2020-21 fund balance was reviewed. • There was a discussion about the possible impact of COVID-19 related revenue reductions. If 2020-21 revenues were less than expenses, the Fund Balance would be used to cover expenses. The approach used for the 2020-21 year is to use Fund Balance for unforeseen one-year impacts and to engage in serious conversations about alternative budget strategies if the revenue downturn persists longer than a year. There was discussion about a tax increase of 0%, 2% or 2.6%. Discussions included COVID-19 impacts on businesses, services that students need and the 2020- 21 education delivery uncertainties. The effect of flat funding from the state, unfunded state mandates, rising enrollment, the inefficiencies of delivering education through multiple platforms were included in the discussion. • There was a discussion of the ERBs and its use as a budget impact strategy. There was a review of the assessment tools available to identify gaps in learning during the 2020-21 school year. There are several tools already in use and others being investigated. Additionally, the challenges that COVID-19 has created may make the ERBs problematic. • The Committee recommended moving forward the current final budget to the June Board meeting for approval. As part of the presentation of the final budget at the June Board meeting, information about the impact of a 0%, 2% along with the proposed 2.6% tax increase will be included. Public Comment: The public comment that met the residency criteria was read during the meeting. The following comments were read during the meeting. ● Ray Clarke commented on the Capital Reserve transfer. ● Fred Bruno commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Jillian Marcussen commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Jennifer and Daniel Zebro commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Joy Hlavacek Mossholder and Lee Sporn commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Sarah Bauer commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Margaret Pierdomenico commented on the 2020-21 Budget. 2 Draft Finance Committee Meeting Minutes ● Becky Ormsbee commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Pranoti Pradhan commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Bernard and Carol Lenz commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Heather Dekker commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Wendy Brooks commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Pattye Benson commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Nancy Coradi commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Cindy Verguldi commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Vanessa Monahan commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Meghan Kampf commented on the 2020-21 Budget ● BUILD T/E, Kate Mayer, Maggie Gaines, Jamie Lynch and Wendy Brooks, commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Amy Norcini commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Susan McGowan commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Heather Guerin commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Leah Krider commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Eric and Jessica Sugalski commented on the 2020-21 Budget. ● Heather McConnell commented on the 2020-21 Budget. Additional comments that were received will be forwarded to the Board for their review. Adjournment: ● The meeting adjourned at 10:45 PM. Next Meeting: ● The next meeting is TBD. 3 TREDYFFRIN/EASTTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT TREASURER'S REPORT May 2020 SCHEDULES A. FUND BALANCE B. INVESTMENTS C. REVENUES SUMMARY D. REVENUES E. APPROPRIATIONS SUMMARY F. APPROPRIATIONS G. BUDGET TRANSFERS H. STUDENT ACTIVITY FUNDS I. CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND J. CAPITAL PROJECTS BONDS FUND K. CAFETERIA FUND L. CHECK REGISTER M. TRUST FUND 4 TREDYFFRIN/EASTTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT INCOME REPORT MAY 2019-2020 A B C = B - A D = C / A E F G = F - E H = G / E Budget Year-To-Date Budget % of Budget Year-To-Date Budget % of 2019-2020 Income Variance Variance 2018-2019 Income Variance Variance Local Income: 6111 Real Estate Taxes 115,497,102.00 115,283,026.51 (214,075.49) -0.19%