Times Observer photo by Jessica N. Rex Director Paul Mangione discussed the difficulties that the district faces due to state mandates.

Warren County school board members are still wrestling with the budget – including concerns over how state mandates impact the spending plan.

Board member Paul Mangione spoke on the state mandate book and how budgetary items often are unfunded mandates that the state is forcing the district to do.

Those mandates, he said, add to some of the taxpayer concerns raised in recent months with how things are being done with the district. Mangione said some of these central office employees that members of the public and some board members want to see eliminated could be falling under a state mandate and encouraged all board members to look through the book to gain an understanding on the difficulties that the administration has to work through when presenting a budget.

Board member Tammi Holden said the PSBA Advocacy Day will be held on May 4 in Harrisburg.

“The mandates are put in place by the state, to tell the school districts what they’re required to do, how they’ll do it and ultimately how much they will spend to get it done,” Holden said.

She said the combined effect of the mandates are not all funded by the state, which can create burdens on district level requirements, forces many (teachers) away from the classroom and in turn, results in higher taxes and negative impacts on local decision making. School infrastructure needs and decisions are often funded by local funding sources, not by the state. The state budget impasse backed up matters even worse and then pushed financial struggles into the rest of year.

Wortman brought up his recommendation that the burn rate and projected deficit should be worked on to offset the upcoming deficit. Director Kevin Lindvay recommended the board to draft a letter to the state to advocate change about the education funding and inequities that have and continue to exist. Weber offered to gather historical information in order to draw up a letter.

Mangione compared McKean County receiving $49 million in school funding from the state compared to Warren’s $29 million.

“The state said we need to consolidate things and get things broken down,” Mangione said.

The district gave them the model they wanted and the results given back from the state are not financially favorable so far.