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Schools

Lower Merion School District May Lose $1.4M From State

The district plans to build a new school budget based on Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed cuts.

The Lower Merion School District will lose $1.4 million if Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed state budget cuts for 2011-2012 are approved, Superintendent of Schools Christopher McGinley said at a Lower Merion Board of School Directors meeting on Monday night.

McGinley spoke about the Republican governor’s proposed budget cuts to education during the “superintendent update” to the board.

When the school district came up with its initial budget for the 2011-2012 school year, the district was “expecting to lose $500,000 from the state,” McGinley said.

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But under Corbett’s current budget proposal, the Lower Merion School district would lose $1.4 million, McGinley said.

While the district does not have many students who chose to enroll in charter schools, Lower Merion could lose $82,000 in charter school tuition reimbursements because under the Corbett’s proposed budget, the state “no longer provides any compensation for charter school tuition,” McGinley said.

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The state budget proposal also calls for eliminating social security reimbursements for schools, which would result in “more than $800,000 lost” to the Lower Merion School District, McGinley said.

“We are now building a new (school district) budget based on the proposed state cuts,” McGinley said.

The school district budget will be discussed at the next Board of School Directors’ Finance Committee Meeting on Tuesday, March 29, McGinley said.  The meeting was scheduled for 8 a.m., but that time may be changed.

In other matters, the Board of School Directors voted unanimously to authorize the superintendent to enter into an agreement with Presidio Network Solutions to upgrade the school district network, which provides voice, data and video services to the schools.  At the time of the vote, the school board had three of its nine members absent from the meeting due to illness and travel.  The agreement with Presidio Network Solutions is subject to solicitor review and approval.

Whether it is phone calls, e-mails, the district’s 7,263 computers, or someone turning on an educational channel, it all goes through the school district network, George Frazier, director of information systems for the Lower Merion School District, said during a presentation which he made to the board about the district network.

The network provides a backup so that in case the system goes down, the district doesn’t lose its 150 phone lines, which provides service for more than 1200 phones, Frazier said.

“We in fact provide our own dial tone to 1,236 phones,” Frazier said.

The district wants to upgrade the network so that the network could support mobile devices and new technology, Frazier said.

The superintendent also lauded a longtime school district employee, Jack Koser, who has served as director of nutritional services for the past 33 years.

The Pennsylvania Association of School Business Managers recently presented Koser with the Gary E. Reeser Memorial Award, which recognizes professionalism, leadership and innovation in the field of school business management, McGinley said.  Koser is the second Lower Merion nutritional services director to receive the award, McGinley said.

When he was asked to speak before the board about the award, Koser said he had been nominated last year and he had not expected to win this year.

Koser said he plans to retire on Aug. 31, although he has not submitted his written resignation yet.

“Thirty-three years I think is enough,” Koser said.  “I have grandkids now.  I just bought a big house in the Poconos.”

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