When the Parkland administration and school board convened for the annual, all-day budget seminar this spring, every aspect of the education program was examined in terms of necessity and cost.

Business Manager John Vignone presented a detailed overview of the then $143,765,605 budget for 2013-14.

The final $143,585,949 budget was unanimously adopted in June.

Administrators looked at several new staffing requests and the cost of providing for them.

District Superintendent Richard Sniscak said the district plans to employ a school resource officer to work at Orefield and Springhouse middle schools.

Parkland staff will work with South Whitehall Township officials to select an appropriate individual for the job and to fund the position.

The officer, who will be member of the South Whitehall Police Department, will devote 75 percent of his or her time to the school district and 25 percent to the township, primarily during summer months.

A similar arrangement is now in effect at the high school, which has had a school resource officer on its team for several years.

Sniscak said the Parkland obligation will be $90,000 for the 2013-14 term.

Assistant Superintendent Rod Troutman requested only two new professional positions for the new school year.

He said the district needs an additional speech and language pathologist to stay within the state-mandated caseload of 65 students per pathologist.

Parkland presently employs 10 speech and language pathologists, and six are serving children above the prescribed caseload.

Rob Thornburg, director of student services, commented on the additional employee.

"We need another speech and language pathologist not just because of the mandate," Thornberg said. "We need them to offer the service for our students."

Troutman said the district also needs an additional English as a Second Language teacher to address an overall increase in the population now referred to as English Language Learners.

The ESL program already includes three full-time and eight part-time professional teachers throughout the district.

Salaries for the ESL teacher and the speech and language pathologist would each cost $60,344.

The assistant superintendent also asked to have two elementary positions provided in the budget to be used only if necessary due to enrollment increases during the summer.

Before the vote in June, Business Manager John Vignone said 48.13 percent of the budget is for salaries.

Employee benefits will increase 12.48 percent, consuming 24.20 percent of the budget.