School finance director Sue Salg won kudos for presenting a full budget package that was easy to understand.

“The budget is very clear,” said George Bott of District 1.

District 2 resident Charlie Costello also complimented Salg, saying “It is very easy to follow and very good. Much better and transparent.”

However, Costello objected to an across-the-board pay raise of 3% for all school employees. “It bothers me it’s that high when the military gets 1%, if that, and a lot of other people don’t get any.”

As proposed, $10,790,557 would come from the county, an increase of $372,001 or 3.6% more than in the current budget.

The federal contribution is expected to be $944,878, down $316,480. The state’s share amounts to $2,022,715, up $186,902.

The district expects to pick up $1,333,541 in state sales tax, up $39,964.

District 1 resident Richard Pleasants gave a 15-minute presentation offering suggestions on how the schools could better “sell” their budget to county supervisors and the public in a “more business-like approach.”

He suggested since Lancaster is one of the richest counties in the state, residents could afford to pay an additional one cent in real estate property taxes, which he said would only amount to $40 on a house valued at $400,000.

Kenya Moody of District 2 asked the principals if there was any research on the impact on education because of the district’s 990-hour calendar versus the longer school calendar of 180 days.

The 990-hour calendar year was adopted several years ago during budget cuts.

High school principal Dr. Lori Watrous said in her study of the first year, there were no signs that learning was off at the high school level and, in fact, the system had been beneficial to struggling students because of concentrated help during the special June session.

“Our calendar is not meeting the needs of our students. We could use the extra time for our classes,” said primary school principal Dr. Holly Wargo. The primary school is a Title I school, receiving additional federal funding to improve levels of learning for disadvantaged students.

School board chairman Alex Fleet also expressed concern with the shortened school year.

“The great portion of our students in the middle area lose a great deal of instruction. But it costs $220,000 to get back the 180-day calendar,” said Fleet.

The board will vote on the proposed budget at 6 p.m. Monday, March 25, at the school board office on Irvington Road. The budget will then go to the board of supervisors for consideration as part of the overall county budget.