Schools
Manchester Residents Will Pay An Average of $36.86 In Coming School Year
No cuts in programs or staff, total budget up 1.7 percent from last year
From the Manchester Township District website:
The Manchester Township Board of Education approved the 2014-15 School Budget at their April 24, 2014 meeting. General fund revenue is $49,390,765. The general fund tax levy is $40,920,287 and the debt service tax levy is $2,185,250.
The local tax impact would be an annual increase of $23.57 per $100,000 of assessed home value. For the average township home assessed at $156,400 the annual increase would be $36.86.
Superintendent of Schools David Trethaway, and Business Administrator Craig Lorentzen, gave a presentation that explained next year’s budget and also reviewed some of the improvements and enhancements that were made in the district this year.
Trethaway told the board that safety and security improvements have been a priority over the past year. Improvements include card readers at school entrances that allow staff to enter by swiping their ID badges, new cameras with better views of entrances, security film installed on entrance door windows designed to stop the glass from shattering and delay an intruder from entering a building for 8-15 minutes, intercom upgrades to improve communication within the schools, and alarm upgrades.
Facilities improvements this year include replacing carpeting with VCT tile to address mold concerns, door replacements, HVAC upgrades, playground equipment upgrades, and paving, fencing and storm drain repairs.
Technology enhancements achieved this year include increased wireless capability throughout all schools, new software and apps, a new phone system, networkable copiers, and new tech devices including Chromebooks, iPads, Kindles, laptops, document cameras, projectors and more.
Program enhancements made this year include implementation of the Teachscape teacher evaluation tool, new textbooks for Biology and U.S. History II, leveled reader purchases and staff development.
Trethaway said that next year all current programs and staff would be maintained, two elementary teachers would be added due to enrollment numbers at MTES and Whiting School, and one high school teacher would be added in order to expand the business program there.
The Middle School will implement a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) program and, at the high school, an effort is underway to add more career and technical education options to the schedule.
The High School guidance department will add new programs for career and college readiness called Naviance. The budget also includes funding to bring back the after-school late bus runs and some of the extra-curricular positions that were cut when state aid was severely reduced in 2010-11.
New purchases for next year will include textbooks, leveled readers, digital devices for PARCC testing, classroom technology, and increased internet bandwidth for the district. The new PARCC assessment that starts next year is required to be taken online so purchasing devices that can be used to take the test will be a priority for next year, Trethaway said.
“However, we don’t want to purchase devices just for the test, we need to make them a part of everyday instruction in the classroom,” he said. “It’s not enough to just go to the computer lab once or twice a week anymore.”
He said that the district has tested Chromebooks this year and they are still trying to determine the best devices to purchase.
“We are looking for something that is affordable and that works for the test as well as getting the most out of it in the classroom, he said.”
Lorentzen said that the budget is at the state cap of 2 percent % with no adjustments or waivers taken. The overall budget increase is 1.7 percent.
He said the district received an additional $56,000 in state aid this year, which he noted is still $1.1 million below what the district received five years ago.
Federal aid is expected to decrease by 15 percent. He said that local taxes are now funding 82 percent of the budget, with only 11 percent coming from the State, 1.7 percent from federal aid, and 5.2 percent from other miscellaneous sources.
For more details on the budget, see the full presentation at www.manchestertwp.org/budget.
The Manchester Township Board of Education approved the 2014-15 School Budget at their April 24, 2014 meeting. General fund revenue is $49,390,765. The general fund tax levy is $40,920,287 and the debt service tax levy is $2,185,250.
The local tax impact would be an annual increase of $23.57 per $100,000 of assessed home value. For the average township home assessed at $156,400 the annual increase would be $36.86.
Superintendent of Schools David Trethaway, and Business Administrator Craig Lorentzen, gave a presentation that explained next year’s budget and also reviewed some of the improvements and enhancements that were made in the district this year.
Trethaway told the board that safety and security improvements have been a priority over the past year. Improvements include card readers at school entrances that allow staff to enter by swiping their ID badges, new cameras with better views of entrances, security film installed on entrance door windows designed to stop the glass from shattering and delay an intruder from entering a building for 8-15 minutes, intercom upgrades to improve communication within the schools, and alarm upgrades.
Facilities improvements this year include replacing carpeting with VCT tile to address mold concerns, door replacements, HVAC upgrades, playground equipment upgrades, and paving, fencing and storm drain repairs.
Technology enhancements achieved this year include increased wireless capability throughout all schools, new software and apps, a new phone system, networkable copiers, and new tech devices including Chromebooks, iPads, Kindles, laptops, document cameras, projectors and more.
Program enhancements made this year include implementation of the Teachscape teacher evaluation tool, new textbooks for Biology and U.S. History II, leveled reader purchases and staff development.
Trethaway said that next year all current programs and staff would be maintained, two elementary teachers would be added due to enrollment numbers at MTES and Whiting School, and one high school teacher would be added in order to expand the business program there.
The Middle School will implement a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) program and, at the high school, an effort is underway to add more career and technical education options to the schedule.
The High School guidance department will add new programs for career and college readiness called Naviance. The budget also includes funding to bring back the after-school late bus runs and some of the extra-curricular positions that were cut when state aid was severely reduced in 2010-11.
New purchases for next year will include textbooks, leveled readers, digital devices for PARCC testing, classroom technology, and increased internet bandwidth for the district. The new PARCC assessment that starts next year is required to be taken online so purchasing devices that can be used to take the test will be a priority for next year, Trethaway said.
“However, we don’t want to purchase devices just for the test, we need to make them a part of everyday instruction in the classroom,” he said. “It’s not enough to just go to the computer lab once or twice a week anymore.”
He said that the district has tested Chromebooks this year and they are still trying to determine the best devices to purchase.
“We are looking for something that is affordable and that works for the test as well as getting the most out of it in the classroom, he said.”
Lorentzen said that the budget is at the state cap of 2 percent % with no adjustments or waivers taken. The overall budget increase is 1.7 percent.
He said the district received an additional $56,000 in state aid this year, which he noted is still $1.1 million below what the district received five years ago.
Federal aid is expected to decrease by 15 percent. He said that local taxes are now funding 82 percent of the budget, with only 11 percent coming from the State, 1.7 percent from federal aid, and 5.2 percent from other miscellaneous sources.
For more details on the budget, see the full presentation at www.manchestertwp.org/budget.
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