Washington schools seek tax increase
Property owners in the Washington School District might see their first school tax increase in two years.
Washington School Board on Monday voted unanimously to approve a nearly $27 million preliminary budget for the 2016-17 school year that contains a proposed 5.5-mill tax increase.
District business manager Rick Mancini said the proposed increase would mean an additional $43 a year for the average taxpayer. The average school tax bill is $1,048. Mancini said property owners who receive the homestead exemption of $450 currently pay $598 annually in school taxes.
One mill is equivalent to $60,000, Mancini said. The last tax increase was 3 mills in the 2013-14 school year.
The preliminary draft is a $719,000 increase over the current budget, Mancini said. The majority of the increase – $400,000 – is because of an increase in pension contribution costs.
Mancini said salary and health care cost increases, as well as more money budgeted for technology, make up another $300,000.
Mancini said salaries, health care and retirement costs make up the largest portion of the district’s budget.
The school board also authorized the administration to apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for a referendum exception because of anticipated increases in the district’s share of required payments to the Public School Employees Retirement System for pensions.
Mancini said Washington School District’s payment for the 2016-17 school year is set to increase by $400,000 – from $2.7 million to $3.1 million. The state reimburses districts for half the payment.
“It is the single largest increase (in the budget),” he said.
The business manager said the budget draft includes no increase in state funding, particularly given the lack of a state budget for the current school year.
Mancini said the district received $5.7 million in state funding earlier this month and is owed another $8 million.
“There is not one dime more in state funding (budgeted for the 2016-17 year) other than the 50 percent of the retirement (costs),” Mancini said.
Mancini said an additional $150,000 in the technology budget – from $130,000 currently to $280,000 – is expected to be spent on the creation of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) labs and additional computers.
Board President Jeffrey Fine said the district continues to focus on advancing technology.
“Our efforts are focused on technology and how to integrate it with a good educational plan,” Fine said.
Fine said the district’s goal within the next five years is to provide a computing device for each student in the district, also known as a 1:1 initiative.
Fine said work will continue on the budget in an attempt to lower the proposed tax increase.
“By June when we do the final budget, we would like to have no increase or a reduced increase,” Fine said.