Case Study

Chester Upland School District

PFM's assistance to the Chester-Upland School District during the formulation of its 1998-99 year budget connected revenue and expenditure analysis with the development of facility usage scenarios to provide decision-makers with the information they need to achieve educational objectives and put the School District back on the road to fiscal stability.

PFM has helped the District identify the potential impact of local tax reform, as well as the possible sources and amounts of additional state, federal, corporate or non-profit aid. To provide for maintenance of facilities; academic improvements and other necessary budgetary changes, PFM has focused on identifying the results of salary and benefit changes, early retirement incentives, and the initiation of productivity enhancements which PFM had previously recommended.

PFM is also providing decision-makers with information on the feasibility of five facility usage scenarios, including: the 3 alternatives recommended by PFM in its 1997 study; the plan proposed by the Administration's Blue Ribbon panel; and the plan recommended in the 1998 PFM Feasibility Study. The evaluation of the alternative facility plans will include both the academic and fiscal implications of each alternative. The alternatives will be ranked in terms of academic and fiscal objectives for the District.