Bigger+say+proposed+for+public+on+school+taxes

= = =// By Associated Press //= =// Monday, June 6, 2011 //= = = =HARRISBURG -- Five years ago, the state gave voters the right to veto or approve school property tax increases above the rate of inflation.= =Few such referendums have been held, and some state officials want to give it another try by repealing the 10 exceptions that school districts have used to avoid the votes.= =Gov. Tom Corbett wants to link removal of the exceptions to passage of the 2011-12 state budget, which is due June 30.= =The Taxpayer Relief Act of 2006, as it was called, included the tax increase referendum as part of a wider bill that applied slot machine gambling revenue to reduce school property and local wage taxes.= =Each year the Education Department calculates a statewide "education index," generally slightly above the prior year's rate of inflation, with poorer districts qualifying for an even higher rate. If a school board wants to increase taxes above its number, it must get voter approval. Fourteen such votes have been sought in five years. Thirteen times they were rejected. In five of those votes, more than 80 percent were "no" ballots.= = The Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials said eliminating the exceptions would create chaos in the school budget system. = = "What happens if voters say 'no' to increasing property taxes for pension payments or special-education expenditures?" Executive Director Jay Himes asked. "A 'no' vote doesn't give schools a pass on legally or contractually obligated expenses; it is a no-win position." = =During the current school year, 133 of the state's 500 districts requested exceptions, and 84 used one, according to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Pensions and special education are the most commonly sought exceptions.= =Dave Davare, director of research services for the school boards group, said boards usually are reluctant to raise taxes. He argues they have become the focus of the debate because schools get about 70 percent of property taxes, with counties and local municipalities splitting the rest.= =Proposals pending in the Senate would repeal exceptions or require a two-thirds vote by a school board to raise taxes.= =House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Franklin Park, said legislators are discussing whether some exceptions should remain in the law.= =Education Secretary Ron Tomalis said that if the exceptions are eliminated, tax increase referendums would become far more common. If they continue to fail, he said, that would reflect a disconnect between the school board and taxpayers.= ="Would it mean more work on the part of school district officials? Yes, but that work would entail, first and foremost, controlling costs, and second, communication with the citizens of the district about exactly where the money is going, what it's being used for," Tomalis said.= = Read more: [|Bigger say proposed for public on school taxes - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review] [] = = = = = =News= =home=