School board to meet for budget session

2020 plan still needs funding to be approved

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board will get another chance Friday to approve a measure that will fund the district’s 2020 budget after it voted against a 2.3% tax increase last week.

The school board will meet for a special legislative session at noon in Oakland in an attempt to hash out a deal that will keep the schools operating for the rest of the school year.

Officials have warned that the district could effectively shut down in early 2020 if a budget is not passed.

The school board approved the district’s $665.6 million budget Dec. 18 by a vote of 5-4. But in an unusual move, according to district solicitor Ira Weiss, the board then voted against the tax increase that would have helped to balance the budget.

That happened after board member Kevin Carter, who voted to adopt the budget, abstained on the tax hike. With all the other board members voting the same as they had for the budget, the tax measure failed, 4-4-1.

The failure meant that district administrators had to go back and look at other places to cut expenditures.

It is unclear how much money they will propose to cut, or from where it would come. Board members could also revisit a tax increase, perhaps at a lower rate.

The failure of the tax measure meant that the district would face an approximately $180 million hole in 2020, according to Ronald Joseph, its chief financial officer.

Some of the board members who voted for the budget cited the need for additional revenue. Without more funding, they said, the district could be forced to close schools, cut programs and furlough teachers.

But those who voted against the budget and tax increase argued that there was no guarantee that raising taxes would directly benefit students or improve their performance.

The 2020 budget proposed raising the millage from 9.84 mills to 10.07 mills, which represents an additional $23 on every $100,000 of assessed real estate value for taxpayers.

It was the first time the district had attempted to raise taxes in five years.