May 25, 2016 2 min read

CHARLEROI – Charleroi Area School Board is proposing a 7-mill real estate tax increase to meet rising expenses and address a $281,000 budget shortfall in the upcoming term.

The board Tuesday introduced the district’s tentative 2016-17 spending plan showing expenditures of $22.8 million. The tax increase, if adopted, would cost the owner of a property with an appraised value of $40,000 about $70 in the next bill.

“The uncertainty of the state’s funding for education this year and in the upcoming school year has created fiscal challenges not only for Charleroi but for all school districts in the commonwealth,” district Superintendent Ed Zelich stated in a news release.

The district saw a reduction in allocations in 2015-16 of $207,000. Charleroi also spent $74,000 in interest on a loan it used to pay expenses during the state budget impasse, the release indicates.

Zelich said the tax increase would provide “long-term economic sustainability” in the district.

The tax increase creates $350,000 in new income at a time when retirement contributions will increase by $252,000 and health benefits will see an increase of $158,000.

The upcoming budget also reflects an increase of $732,075 from this term’s spending plan. It also includes a $3,000 donation to the John K. Tener Public Library in Charleroi.

The district will save some money not filling positions through attrition, and it’s committed to making sure eliminated positions will have a limited impact on programs, Zelich stated.

The budget is expected to be adopted June 28.