Many Fox Chapel Area School District property owners will pay 3.75% more in real estate taxes next school year.

The school board voted 8-0 on June 10 to pass the district’s $119.1 million budget for 2024-25, using a tax hike and money from the district’s fund balance to balance it. School Director Vanessa Lynch was absent.

The millage rate is set at 21.5128 mills, which is a 0.7776-mill increase. It means property tax payments go up $77.76 per $100,000 in assessed value.

The tax hike is expected to generate about $2.7 million for the district.

District officials were repeatedly asked what the median property value in the district was and how the tax hike would impact those property owners. That information was not provided.

The district could have raised taxes 5.3%, the maximum allowed by the Act 1 index — a state formula based on the inflation rate that limits property tax hikes without requiring voters’ approval.

No one in the audience at the meeting commented about the budget.

Several board members in May had requested the administration take another look at the budget to reduce the proposed tax hike prior to its passage.

Kimberly Pawlishak, the district’s business manager, said a thorough review was done and any tax hike reduction would impact programs, staffing and facilities.

The budget contains no cuts to classes or personnel.

Pawlishak said administrators were able to reduce some expenses related to substitute staffing. They also identified a redundancy in building-related spending: A capital improvement expense was listed in two separate places.

Updated financial figures also showed a reduction in state’s transportation reimbursement and slight cuts in federal revenues as compared to May’s numbers.

Changes from the proposed budget to final budget were also outlined in a presentation posted on the district’s website prior to the vote.

Board treasurer Eric Hamilton thanked his fellow board members for supporting the spending plan and said he believes the administration did all it could to balance the needs of students and teachers with the consideration of taxpayers.

“In the end, we were able to use some of our reserves to help soften the tax increase, and it’s still a tax increase that’s below the rate of inflation,” Hamilton said. “That’s the good news.

“On the other hand, it is a higher increase than we’ve had in recent years, which is a reflection on the countywide reassessments that are going on as well as the rate of inflation.”

The budget for the school year that just ended included a 1.5% tax hike and no cuts to programs or staffing.

Why the tax hike?

Pawlishak said the tax hike was necessary because of rising health care costs, inflation, maintenance projects in the multiphase capital projects plan and to recoup an estimated $800,000 revenue losses due to assessment value changes.

Those value changes also meant an $800,000 refund of real estate taxes this school year.

Medical premiums were projected to increase by 9%, dental coverage by 5% and vision by 3%.

Projected revenues were listed at about $119.1 million with expenses at about $318,000 more. The shortfall will be covered by pulling from the district’s $6.9 million fund balance.

Expected income includes about $74.8 million in current real estate taxes, $12 million in Act 511 taxes including earned income taxes, $5.6 million in basic instructional and operating subsidies, $2.3 million in delinquent taxes and nearly $1 million in federal revenue.

Expected spending includes $84.9 million in wages and benefits, $16.1 million in mandated/contracted expenses, $5.3 million in debt service and $2.2 million for construction/maintenance.

Capital projects include upgrades at every school except Kerr Elementary.

Specific ones mentioned at last month’s board meeting include boilers and flooring work at O’Hara Elementary, HVAC improvements and electrical upgrades to the 75-year system at Fairview Elementary, flooring work at Hartwood Elementary, boilers at Dorseyville Middle School and water and sewer repairs at the high school.

The budget includes a $1.5 million transfer from the capital reserve fund to help cover those costs, as well as using the rest of the district’s remaining $232,000 in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.

School Director Ariel Zych thanked residents who reached out to her about the budget and capital improvement projects.

“I’ve come to terms with the hard realities of the decline in revenue retroactively and proactively, as well as the increased costs associated with failing equipment that keeps our buildings hospitable,” Zych said.

“We’re under a hard deadline to pass the budget in this meeting every year. The meat of our deliberation occurs in the months prior. This vote was unanimous because we don’t have a choice except to pass the budget as presented at this meeting.”

State law mandates school districts pass a balanced budget by the end of June.

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