Baldwin-Whitehall School Board votes to increase taxes

Residents of the Baldwin-Whitehall School District will see a tax increase for the 2021-2022 school year.

The Baldwin-Whitehall School Board voted unanimously on June 16 to approve the 2021-2022 final operating proposed budget, totaling $74,147,952.

The current tax rate for 2020-2021 is 21.76. mills. The millage will increase by .87, for a total of 22.63 mills.

Mark Cherpak, director of finance and operations of the district, said homeowners who own a house assessed at $100,000 will see an $87 increase per year.

When recommending the budget, tax collection over the year was a consideration, Cherpak said.

“There was a lower amount of tax collection opposed by covid. We were not getting as much revenue from taxes as we did before,” Cherpak said.

Debt services costs were also another factor in the increase, as there were more bonds issued to help pay for the construction of the new R.A. Lutz Elementary School, according to Cherpak.

“Because we have more bonds outstanding, the actual cost of paying them back is higher,” he said.

Construction of the new elementary school is expected to be completed by 2023. It will house 1,200 students in third through fifth grades. The school will cost an estimated $48 million to build.

Although taxes will increase, Cherpak said the final budget has a $511,000 surplus. The board is still deciding how it will use the money, but Cherpak said it could possibly go towards the construction of R.A. Lutz Elementary School.

“It is still early in the construction phase, so we do not know what we will do with the surplus yet,” he said.

The final approved 2021-2022 budget can be viewed at baldwinpublic.ic-board.com.