Proposed property tax hike provokes objections
Budget, recovery plan vote set for June 24
A proposed property tax increase in Penn Hills School District is raising objections from residents and school district officials alike as the debtladen district prepares to vote on its 2019-20 budget and a comprehensive plan that is meant to help it regain solvency.
The proposed 6.7% tax hike, among several dozen measures recommended under a financial recovery plan to help the district begin to emerge from more than $170 million in debt, is unpopular with the nine-member school board.
The board is scheduled to vote on the 2019-20 budget, as well as the recovery plan on June 24 at Linton Middle School.
“I hope that we can come to a conclusion,” board member Bob Marra said of the tax increase. He pointed out the district is seeking funding from the state Department of Education that could help reduce the levy, which would raise the district’s millage rate to 30.58 mills from 28.66 mills.
The proposed tax increase is nearly double that of the state property tax threshold, part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2006, which is based on a formula including the statewide average weekly wage and the federal employment cost index. It is adjusted for each school district.
For the 2019-20 school year, Penn Hills is limited to a 3.2% tax increase, according to the state education department.
The district received an exemption to raise taxes beyond that limit, Mr. Marra said while noting that without such an exemption it would have to hold a referendum to do so.
At a packed town hall meeting at the high school on Monday, several residents expressed concern about the tax increase, citing recent years of tax hikes in a district with one of the highest property tax rates in Allegheny County.
Others objected to a proposal to lay off more than 55 personnel — also part of the 2019-20 budget — the majority of whom are teachers.
Some proposed alternatives to increase revenue and cut costs include closing a troubled middle school where board President Erin Vecchio suggested behavioral issues are pervasive.
She noted the district is considering ways to address academic and administrative issues at the school, Linton Middle.
Others expressed indignation at an Allegheny County grand jury report released in February that underscored extensive fiscal mismanagement surrounding two extravagant school construction projects, wondering why no criminal charges were filed.
“No one was prosecuted,” Mrs. Vecchio said, noting that criminal charges could help compensate the district. “We still want to know why.”
“There’s no quick fix,” Superintendent Nancy Hines said of the district’s financial condition. Referring to the financial recovery plan, she added that it’s “not perfect; it’s not going to fix everything.”
As for the proposed tax increase, the district is hoping for financial support from the state. It has received a total of $4 million from the department over the past two years, said Mr. Marra, the board member.