Plum School Board considering 6.2% property tax increase

Plum residents already hit with a spike in their borough property tax bill also might see an increase in the largest part of their bill: the school district’s property tax.

Ryan Manzer, the district’s chief financial officer, presented several options, including a 6.2% tax increase for the 2024-25 school year.

Of that, half of 1% (0.5%) would go toward a $28.2 million building project the school board is considering at O’Block Elementary School.

The district is able to increase its property tax rate by up to 7.1% under its state-imposed inflation-based limit. The school board voted Tuesday to confirm it would not seek to raise taxes any higher than that.

The board has yet to vote on any tax increase, and the budget for the 2024-25 school year is not yet final.

An increase in the school district’s property tax rate would come after, and be in addition to, a nearly 40% increase in the borough’s property tax, which Plum Council approved Dec. 13. That increase, from 4.78 mills to 6.63 mills, adds $216 to a home at Plum’s $116,700 median assessed value, increasing it from $558 to $774.

In a presentation the school board, Manzer showed a range of tax rate options from no change up to the 7.1% maximum.

“The presentation highlighted the need for careful financial planning and allocation of resources to meet the district’s educational goals and ensure student success,” Superintendent Rick Walsh said. “The budget presentation balanced between fiscal responsibility and the importance of providing necessary support systems to enhance the overall learning experience for our students.”

For the school district, a 6.2% increase would add 1.3655 mills to the district’s 22.0241 mills tax rate, taking it to 23.3896 mills.

For a home at Plum’s median assessed value, the annual school tax bill would increase by $160, from $2,570 to $2,730, before any exclusions are applied.

The district’s projected 2024-25 spending is about $74.1 million, up about 4.4% from this school year’s $70.1 million budget.

While the district’s revenue is increasing by 4.5%, from about $71 million in 2023-24 to $74.1 million, it includes a 57% reduction in federal funding.

Federal funding will fall from nearly $2 million down to about $841,000, as covid pandemic-related funding ends.

The bulk of the district’s budget, 96%, consists of personnel costs, 84%, and debt, 12%, leaving only 4% to spend elsewhere, Manzer said.

“We do a lot of work on that 4% to make sure that it is impactful to students,” he said. “Those are the resources that we provide to those students and our principals, and departments care a lot about that money. But, we are a people business and we have big facilities that have debt associated with them, and that is 96% of our budget.”