Dear Lancaster Family and Friends...
We've come to the pivotal time when voters have an opportunity to review and decide on our spending plan for the upcoming school year.
First, I'm proud to say that the Lancaster Board of Education has adopted a budget that is well within the newly-enacted tax levy cap, coming in with a proposed levy increase of 1.88 percent and a tax impact on a $100,000 home in Lancaster of an additional $24. This was done after a great deal of cooperative planning on the part of administrators, principals and their faculties, and department heads, as well as valued input from concerned citizens who attended our budget work sessions.
Make no mistake, there have been remarkable efficiencies made in this budget, but the proposed spending plan spares the essence of Lancaster schools. While there were some staff eliminations due to declining enrollment, we have maintained the integrity of our educational program at all levels including music, sports, and extracurricular activities. Short of the elimination of one day of late buses at the secondary level, with voter approval, our program will have the same look and feel in September as it does today.
Two things lead us into the vote season with a sense of concern. One is voter turnout. We are always concerned if taxpayers don't take the time to educate themselves on the budget process and then vote on election day. Many a school district has had to adopt a contingency plan when their budget was defeated by a handful of votes, or even just one. Contingency budget is the second area of concern. The community needs to be aware that if our budget is defeated, under the new property tax cap law, for the first time in history the total tax levy cannot increase at all over the current year, therefore the budget would need to be reduced by $820,420, necessitating deep cuts into the educational program.
In addition, we are proposing a $19.5 million capital project that will address many health and safety issues brought to our attention during a state-mandated building condition survey last year. The bond issue seeks to maximize available state aid at 82 percent to provide health, safety, and maintenance work to all of our schools at an average cost of 7¢ or less/$1000 over the bonding period.
From now through May 15 we will provide ample opportunity to educate yourself on our budget and program including our annual budget newsletter, and our annual budget meeting at Lancaster High School, May 7 beginning at 7pm. This year, we have added Facebook to our communications mix at facebook.com/lancastercsd. We encourage residents to attend a budget information session with board members and administration at one of our school's PTO meetings and peruse the wealth of information on our website. If you have any questions that remain unanswered, please don't hesitate to contact my office at 686-3201. As always, I thank you for your continued support and hope to see you at the polls on Tuesday, May 15, Lancaster High School, from 7am to 9pm.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Myszka
Superintendent of Schools
