Jul 1, 2016 5 min read

On Thursday, Belle Vernon School Board voted to approve the 2016-17 general fund budget of $35.9 million, which includes a 2.88-mill tax increase in Rostraver Township and North Belle Vernon Borough and a 0.39-mill increase in Fayette County municipalities, the maximum allowed by law. This will be the first school tax increase for Belle Vernon taxpayers in five years.

The $35.9 million budget includes a millage rate of 79.24 mills for properties located in North Belle Vernon Borough and Rostraver Township and a millage rate of 18.85 mills in Belle Vernon Borough, Fayette City Borough and Washington Township.

A homeowner with a $100,000 home in Fayette County, where assessments are 100 percent of market values, will pay an additional $39 in property taxes. A homeowner with a $100,000 home in Westmoreland County, where assessments are approximately 23 percent of property market values, will pay roughly $66 in additional property taxes.

Board President Joe Grata said this balances out the different market-assessed values in each county, meaning that property owners in both counties will be paying about the same amounts in property taxes.

Grata, Vice President Lou Rood, Secretary Daniel Sepesky, Assistant Secretary Edward Naylor and Directors John Nusser Jr. and Joel Whiteko voted in favor of the budget. Directors Aaron Bialon and Gloria Yuschak voted no. Director Ronald Sotta was absent.

Bialon said the board should have been steadily increasing the tax rates in increments rather than all at once. “We should’ve anticipated this over the last few years,” Bialon said.

Jim Kelly of Washington Township shared similar concerns with the board. “I get that taxes have to be raised. I’m in business. I know all about that,” Kelly said. Kelly asked the board why taxes weren’t increased last year or the year before. “Why weren’t taxes increased a little every year instead of nailing us all at once?” Kelly said.

Kelly also said having “$166,000 in the checkbook with a $35 million budget” is irresponsible. Grata explained that with this budget they could have $600,000 to $800,000 for the fund balance by the end of the year.

Kelly said he is a commercial contractor and has noticed that people in the area are beginning to feel the effects of the dwindling oil and gas industry. Kelly said with the toll the loss of jobs will take on the area, the board shouldn’t rely too heavily on tax revenue.

With this budget, the property tax increase is expected to generate roughly $700,000 in additional local revenue. Grata said the budget is $2 million less in expenditures compared to the preliminary budget approved last month. This budget is also $1.5 million less than the $37.5 spending plan for the current fiscal year. “We have spent dozens of hours with these figures,” Grata said.

Grata said in order to arrive at the $2 million in savings, the board saved roughly $350,000 by redistributing existing personnel to fill positions such as maintenance and three retiring teacher positions. Grata said they also made various other cuts such as eliminating physical education lockers, saving $65,000, eliminating an elevator at the middle school, saving $145,000, and eliminating the replacement of teacher computers, saving $35,000.

In a written statement prepared by Grata, which will be posted on the district’s website for public review, Grata outlines how they arrived at this budget and why. According to his written statement, “It is regrettable that state government has backed school districts into a corner by failing to provide adequate money for public education and by imposing unfunded mandates,” Grata wrote.

In his statement, Grata also explains how they were informed last week that the district will not be receiving the remaining $12,291 final subsidy from the state that is due for student transportation for the 2015-16 year. He also cites the underfunded state pension program as another factor in the budget increase, with the district’s total increasing to $4,981,412 for next year. Grata also wrote, “While no school director wants to raise taxes, we can’t emphasize enough how the state has forced this upon us and local taxpayers.”

The approved budget also includes an increase for payments to charter schools, which Grata said had a major effect on the budget. Grata said the district’s total payment to charter schools is now up to $899,546 for 57 students. Grata said there has been no reform in Harrisburg on mandating school districts to pay for charter schools. Grata said without this mandated charter school cost increase, the board would not have needed to raise taxes.

Bialon said school officials have been working within the district to offer internal programs as an alternative to charter schools to keep students in-house. Bialon said they are on the ground floor of presenting this idea to other districts, as well. The board also approved a resolution to implement the Homestead/Farmstead Exclusion. This resulted in $167.20 in real estate tax deductions for approved homesteads and farmsteads in both Westmoreland and Fayette counties.

Also, the board voted unanimously to hire Matt Humbert for the position of part-time teacher/athletic director for the 2016-17 school year, effective July 1, with a stipend of $10,000. This position had been vacant since Jan. 25 after the resignation of Jesse Cramer.

The board also voted to hire Heather Tustin for the position of social worker for the 2016-17 school year, effective Aug. 23, with a salary of $49,000. The board also voted to add a coaching position for cross-country and track at the rate of $3,433.