Business Office

  • Welcome to the Hamburg Area School District.  The District Business Office is responsible for handling all financial transactions for the District.  In addition, Human Resources, Employee Payroll, and Tax Collection services are all coordinated through our department.

    Financials:

    Our District operates on a July 1 to June 30th financial cycle, which is set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.  Districts must develop and pass a budget on or prior to June 30th of each year. Each budget establishes the financial framework for the District over the following July 1 to June 30th period of time. Budget development is nearly a never-ending process that typically starts in September of each year and continues for the next 10 months until the final budget is passed in June. 

    At the conclusion of each operational year, the District is subject to a financial audit by an independent CPA firm. This independent audit verifies the District’s compliance with all applicable laws and regulations governing school districts.  In addition, the yearly audit identifies the financial health of the school district. Not unlike any organization, financial health is a critical piece of short and long-term operational success.

    In addition to the yearly local independent audit, we are subject to a state audit every two to three years. The state audit also reviews our operational and financial compliance with applicable laws and regulations. This process provides yet another level of oversight and compliance monitoring.

    Hamburg Area School District has continually strived for both financial and operational success. Our most recent and past audits reflect this attainment of financial and operational benchmarks.

    The following links at the bottom of this page provide financial information that will help you better understand the financial operations of Hamburg Area School District.

     

    ACT 1 of 2006:

    ACT 1 provided for two significant changes within K-12 public education.  Initially, an annual portion of the state-approved casino gambling revenues were directed to offset a portion of homeowners school real estate tax bills.  This yearly reduction from homeowners real estate tax bills is referred to as the homestead/farmstead exclusion.  Over the past three years, the typical approved homestead/farmstead property in Hamburg received a school property tax reduction of approximately $175.

    Secondly, ACT 1 places a yearly limit on a school district's ability to raise taxes to fund operations.  In other words, the PA Department of Education notifies every school district and informs them that their real estate tax increase can not exceed "X" percent.  Under some conditions, school districts can also apply to the PA Department of Education, Court System, or even voters for approval to raise their taxes by more than the yearly tax limit.

    Operations:

    Nearly every function of our District is governed by either a state or federal law and/or regulation. Because of this situation, school districts have very little operational flexibility. Even with this significant level of control, state and federal funding barely pay for 1/3 of our overall operations, which means that 2/3 of our funding needs to come from the local taxpayers.  With all of these constraints, we make every attempt to minimize the tax impact on our community when developing our annual budget. 

    If you have any questions about District finances, please contact Michele Zimmerman in the Business Office at 610-562-2241. 

    Thank you for visiting our site.

     

     
Ms. Michele Zimmerman, Business Manager