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Push up challenge at LCCC promotes awareness of military suicides

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Reiki level II training at Candy’s Place

<p>Time, tide and the first day of school wait for no man &#8212; at least, no man in the Harrisburg law-making machine.</p><p>Area school districts are poised to open their doors next week without a state budget in place, and how long districts can last without state subsidies hinges heavily on two factors: The percent of budgets covered by the state and the surplus remaining from last year.</p><p>Freshman Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled legislature failed to agree on a budget by the mandated deadline of June 30 and, until they seal a deal, school districts must survive on local tax collections. Spending was low for the first two months of this impasse, thanks to summer vacation, but the money faucet opens to full next week.</p><p>Five Luzerne County school districts have the first day set for Aug. 31, and five others for Sept. 2. Crestwood has the latest start on Sept. 3.</p><p>School district officials are used to being of sync with the state budget process. Districts and the state have the same deadline for passing a budget, but districts almost inevitably finalize their numbers weeks before Harrisburg.</p><p>That was trickier from the start this year because both Wolf and the legislature proposed substantial increases in education spending. Districts had the option of building an increase into their budgets, or being conservative by expecting little or no change.</p><p>Wolf&#8217;s veto of the legislature&#8217;s entire budget took the guesswork out of local budgeting. How much state money should districts count on? Until a bargain is struck in Harrisburg, the answer is an unequivocal zero.</p><p>When the impasse started, area district officials said they should be able to weather the dry spell for several months because they can rely on local property taxes and any fund balances kept for emergencies. But the percentage of local budgets provided by the state varies substantially. Dallas School District gets a bit less than 32 percent of its total budget from the state, while Greater Nanticoke Area and Northwest Area get more than 62 percent.</p><p>The amount districts have available in fund balances also varies substantially, from more than $12 million in Hazleton Area, the county&#8217;s largest district with a projected budget of $137 million, to a scant $275,000 in Hanover Area where spending is estimated at $26.2 million.</p><p>How long districts last without state money can be a game changer if budget talks drag on. The threat of schools not having enough money to re-open after Christmas vacation helped prompt a resolution to the 2003 budget impasse, which lasted 176 days.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Local schools poised to open without state money in place