Letter to the Editor: Penn Hills School District's property tax hike out of line

I write today to express my disappointment that the Penn Hills School Board has voted to raise property taxes yet again on residents of the Penn Hills School District — even though the district is expected to receive millions of dollars in federal covid-19 assistance through the American Rescue Plan and an increase in funding from our state budget.

Penn Hills School District property taxes are already astronomical. Each year, residents are forced to pay more of their hard-earned income to finance this distressed district that continues to wallow in debt as a result of poor past decisions made by school board members.

Many in our community have also been hit hard by the pandemic. With much unknown surrounding covid-19 variants, it is possible that the pandemic will continue for much longer. Why, with this level of uncertainty, with property taxes already sky high, and with so much federal assistance expected to come in, should our residents be charged higher property taxes in the upcoming year?

I am very unhappy with the board’s unanimous decision, and certainly hope you will hold the line on taxes next year and give the residents a break. In the meantime, I will continue to fight in Harrisburg, as I always do, for increased funding in the state budget for schools as well as property tax relief for our residents.

Tony DeLuca

Chairman, Insurance Committee

Pennsylvania House of Representatives