Wallingford-Swarthmore eyes 3.2% tax hike

NETHER PROVIDENCE >> Taxes in the WallingfordSwarthmore School District would increase by 3.2 percent starting July 1 under a proposed budget for fiscal year 2019-20.

The school board is expected to vote on the preliminary plan during its meeting on Feb. 11. Final adoption of the budget is scheduled for June 10.

During a presentation of the spending blueprint on Jan.14, district Business Administrator Martha Kew said Wallingford-Swarthmore was permitted under the state’s Act 1 Index to boost taxes by 2.3 percent.

However, the district will make use of 0.9-percent exception for special education costs that would clear the way for the higher rate.

For a home assessed at the district average of

$179,000, with a current annual school tax bill of

$8,109, the change will result in additional $260 in taxes. Meanwhile, for a homeowner with a property assessed at $337,000, with an annual bill of $17,079 at present, the new rate would tack on another $549 in taxes.

Kew said “unpredictable” factors at this point include how much state and federal funding the district will receive.

But some “givens” are that the district’s required contributions to the retirement system for teachers continue to rise and the rate of increase in healthcare costs for employees.

“As you can see, the pension (the tab that must be paid to the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System, or PSERS) has been the single largest driver of increases in our budget over the last decade,” she said.

PSERS requires that the district pay out 34 cents on every dollar of wages, though it gets back 17 cents, according to Kew.

While pension reforms have been passed by the state Legislature, they do not take effect until July 1, she said. New hires will be affected.

And due to an increase to cover the higher initial cost of the new plans, districts are not expected to begin to realize savings until 203435.

Speaking at a recent meeting, former board member David Serratore said he had reviewed data from the last 10 years of Wallingford-Swarthmore budget audits and found that during eight of those years, the district had either overestimated expenditures or underestimated revenues.

“In eight of the ten years, the district has brought in $15.8 million more than anticipated,” Serratore said. “In the last 10 years, approximately $13 million was collected from taxpayers I believe somewhat unnecessarily.”

Serratore said district property owners pay some of the highest residential tax bills in the state.

“I believe the residents of the school district need the board and the administrators to sharpen their pencils and do a better job with their budgets so that they can take care of the needs of the students and the taxpayers at the same time,” he said.

“I know it’s difficult, but it’s something that can be done.”

Serratore also said he was proposing that the board reject anything greater than a 1-percent tax increase for this year and possibly for two years.

“If any board members or administrators are concerned that low is low, keep in mind there is a $10 million fund balance and $7 million in the capital fund,” he said.

Kew said during her presentation that it was a “delicate balancing act” between maintaining appropriate fund balance and increasing taxes.