Referendum on tax increase for special ed headed to ballot in California school district
Voters in the California Area School District will be the first in Washington County to see a referendum question dealing with a larger than state-indexed property tax increase.
School district business manager and board treasurer Mary C. Burford submitted paperwork Wednesday to the Washington County elections office based on action by the board at a public meeting Feb. 19.
The California Area school board hopes to levy a property tax millage rate of 14.3542 mills for the 2020-21 school year. This amount exceeds the district’s permissible millage as defined by Act 1 of 2006.
This millage rate may only be imposed under Act 1 by submitting the proposal to the district’s voters. The April 28 primary takes place before the end of the school district’s fiscal year on June 30. The board must adopt a budget for the following fiscal year by that date.
Burford, in a letter submitted to the elections office, phrased the ballot question as, “Do you support raising the real estate tax levied by California Area School District by 2.8539 mills for the 2020-21 fiscal year?”
Voters would choose “yes” or “no.”
School districts can also petition the state Department of Education to grant an exception, which California Area also pursued. Although the Department of Education on Thursday granted California a $300,000 exception for special education programs and the inflation index, Burford said this amount did not give the district enough leeway to balance next school year’s budget.
The district estimates it will need more than three times that amount to balance the 2020-21 budget.
“It’s for the students,” Burford said. “This is a pro-student budget. We do not have available what we need to provide our students with the programs.”
California area cut three instructional positions and $700,000 from its budget last year. Burford said the district has a student-teacher ratio of 14.37 to 1, when most districts are in the neighborhood of 12 students per teacher.
“We already run a tight ship,” she said. “We don’t want to have to cut programs for the students and athletics.”
Budgetary woes at California University of Pennsylvania have had a ripple effect on the school district.
The university, which is tax-exempt by law, has five phases of agreements which cover nearly half a million dollars worth of payments in lieu of taxes to the school district, but the money, Burford said, hasn’t arrived.
Cal U. has made payments on two phases, but not the other three, according to the school district business manager.
If the tax referendum passes, Burford said the average California Area property owner would see an increase of $200 per year, less than $20 per month.
“Forty-seven to 48 percent of our properties will see an increase of $12 a month or less with this,” she continued.
Melanie Ostrander, Washington County elections director, said she would be consulting with county and school district solicitors to craft a “plain language explanation” to accompany the referendum question, which was a tad more complicated in the resolution passed by the school board last month.
Burford said the “plain language” explanation will include information on the increased costs of special education.
In 2018-19 school year – the last year for which complete figures are available – special education costs exceeded budgeted figures by over half a million dollars.
“Cyberschool costs are the other part,” Burford said. “Last year we spent almost $450,000 and we’re on track to hit $600,000 this year.”
In June of last year, the board approved the 2019-20 general fund budget in the amount of $15,914,035 based on 11.5003 mills that included a .7403 millage increase in local real estate taxes.
In a January meeting this year, the school board by a voice vote of 7-0 approved a preliminary general fund budget of $16,624,178 for the 2020-21 school year. Absent were Eric Amber and Barry Niccolai, president.
On Dec. 3, Burford discussed the preliminary budget with a 3.6% index, the maximum millage increase, and the status of property tax appeals. She said most of those have been finalized, but those that went to court are still pending.
The California Area School District encompasses, in addition to the eponymous borough, Allenport, Coal Center, Elco, Long Branch, Roscoe, the West Brownsville Borough annex and West Pike Run Township, covering a total of about 35 square miles.
Regular school board meetings are scheduled for the third Wednesday of each month. The next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. March 18 in the high school library.