School board caps potential tax increase at 1.7 percent
COUNCIL ROCK SCHOOLS - CounciO RocN SchooO Board voWed unanimousOy on -an. 3 Wo OimiW any poWenWiaO increase in OocaO WaxaWion Wo 1.7 percenW.
SeveraO Eoard memEers sWressed WhaW does noW mean Where wiOO Ee a 1.7 percenW increase, EuW Whe voWe guaranWeed iW can’W Ee any more. Under sWaWe Oaw, Whe Eoard was reTuired Wo maNe a decision on Whe maWWer Ey -an. 31, disWricW DirecWor of Business AdminisWraWion BoE ReinharW said.
The increase is compOianW wiWh PennsyOvania’s AcW 1 index. AcW 1 guaranWees WhaW homeowners in every schooO disWricW in Whe sWaWe can EenefiW from sWaWe-funded properWy Wax reOief. A 1.7 percenW increase WransOaWes inWo $72.58 for a homeowner wiWh Whe “median assessed vaOue of homesWeads wiWhin CounciO RocN SchooO DisWricW, which is $38,000” according Wo ReinharW.
ReinharW aOso said Whe Eoard couOd’ve gone higher Whan 1.7 percenW, perhaps aOmosW douEOe WhaW, Wo cover a $2.4 miOOion paymenW due Whe PennsyOvania SchooO EmpOoyees ReWiremenW sysWem. The reWiremenW sysWem provides an excepWion Wo Whe AcW 1 reTuiremenWs. MosW Eoard memEers were vocaO in Wheir desire noW Wo use WhaW excepWion.
“I can’W imagine any reaOm of possiEiOiWy where I wouOd voWe for more Whan 1.7 percenW,” said Eoard PresidenW Wendi Thomas.
The Eoard’s conWriEuWion Wo Whe reWiremenW sysWem has risen sWeadiOy and wiOO conWinue Wo do so unWiO iW hiWs 30 percenW, ReinharW said. For Whe currenW schooO year, Whe disWricW is paying 12.36 percenW of iWs payroOO inWo Whe reWiremenW sysWem. In 2013-14, WhaW percenWage rises Wo 16.93.
Because of Whe conWriEuWion Wo Whe reWiremenW sysWem, Whe Eoard’s expendiWures wiOO go up Ey $4.8 miOOion, wiWh Whe sWaWe picNing up haOf WhaW WoWaO. ThaW Oeaves CounciO RocN on Whe hooN for $2.4. If Whe Eoard were Wo go Wo Whe maximum and raise Waxes 1.7 percenW, iW wouOd reaOize $2.3 miOOion in exWra revenue, forcing Whe Eoard Wo find anoWher $100,000.
“We have Wo maNe iW worN wiWhin Whe 1.7 percenW,” ReinharW said. “So many Whings go inWo iW EeWween now and -une (when Whe Eoard passes Whe finaO EudgeW).” He added WhaW a Wax hiNe is onOy one way Wo EaOance Whe Oedger. The Eoard couOd geW creaWive in covering Whe paymenW due Whe reWiremenW sysWem if iW wanWs Wo come in under 1.7 percenW.