School+districts+wrestle+with+uncertainty

= More forced to seek greater tax hikes = = = =By Mary Niederberger= =Published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette= =1/6/12= = = = = = = =It appears the only certainty that school officials face in preparing their 2012-13 budgets is uncertainty.= =Thursday was the deadline for districts to either pass a resolution agreeing to keep property tax hikes to the limit assigned by state Act 1, or post for public display a preliminary budget, which would allow districts to preserve their right to file for any of the three exceptions to the limit -- pension, special education or debt costs.= =But that decision had to be made before districts found out how much state funding they would get, how much their health care costs will increase, how many employees may retire, and in Allegheny County, whether or not there will be new property assessment figures used to calculate tax revenues.= =That uncertainty, coupled with a mandated 43 percent increase in pension costs, has prompted districts that otherwise might have stayed within the limit to leave the door open for filing exceptions. Pension contributions will increase this year from 8.65 percent of payroll to 12.36 percent.= =Among local districts that remain open to Act 1 exceptions are Baldwin-Whitehall, Bethel Park, Clairton, Gateway, Mt. Lebanon, Moon, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine-Richland, Quaker Valley and Upper St. Clair in Allegheny County, Peters in Washington County, Franklin Regional in Westmoreland County and Seneca Valley in Butler County.= =On the flip side, some of the school boards that have passed resolutions to stay within their Act 1 limits are Allegheny Valley, Brentwood, Keystone Oaks, Hampton, McKeesport, South Allegheny, South Park, Sto-Rox, West Allegheny, West Mifflin, Wilkinsburg, Woodland Hills and Pittsburgh Public Schools.= =Act 1, signed into law in 2006, establishes an annual index that determines the percentage each district in the state can raise taxes. Increases beyond the index require approval by the Education Department or by voter referendum.= =Jay Himes, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, said the index this year ranges from 1.7 to 2.8 percent, with less wealthy districts alloted higher percentages.= =Mr. Himes said the approval record for tax hike referendums is "dismal," with about a dozen or so proposed statewide, but only one approved. Considering ever-increasing costs and state funding reductions, he said he expects more school boards to apply for exceptions this year.= =Districts have until Feb. 9 to apply. State Education Department spokesman Timothy Eller said information about which districts have applied will not be available until late March.= =For the current 2011-12 budget, 228 districts sought and were granted exceptions, according to an Education Department report. Of those, 139 got exceptions that fully funded their preliminary budget and 89 got exceptions that did not fully fund their preliminary budgets.= =With the 2012-13 budgets, Baldwin-Whitehall School District will face an additional $1 million in pension contribution costs, so the district's board decided last month to formulate a preliminary budget, allowing it to file for the pension exception, said business manager William McNamee.= ="It's just too big of a hit for us to take," Mr. McNamee said. The district also plans to file for the special education exception.= =In Clairton, where the community soundly defeated a referendum to raise taxes above the Act 1 index last year, the board is considering applying for the pension and special education exceptions if necessary, said board President Richard Livingston.= ="We did not pass a resolution saying we would stay within the Act 1 limit and we have a preliminary budget on display. We don't want to tie our hands because we don't know what the governor is going to give us," Mr. Livingston said.= =Mr. Livingston and other school officials said formulating the 2012-13 budget is made more difficult by the fact that the presidential primary, which is being held in April, a month earlier than usual, has pushed the Act 1 deadlines up by one month. That is to allow districts to use a primary referendum if necessary to increase taxes.= =The Franklin Regional school board in Westmoreland County will vote on its preliminary budget later this month and has announced plans to file for exceptions for pension and special education costs.= =Jon Perry, director of financial services, said the Act 1 index for his district is 2 percent, which equates to 1.73 mills. If the exceptions are approved, the board could raise taxes an additional 2.68 mills.= =But, he said, it's not necessarily its intention to do so.= ="It is not the board's intention to pass the maximum of the indexes," Mr. Perry said. "But since we have so little information, we want to keep our options open."= = = =Read more: [|http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12006/1201697-56-0.stm#ixzz1ijV0DXQv] = = = = = =News= =home=