New Kensington-Arnold holds the line on taxes

The New Kensington-Arnold School Board has approved a nearly $38 million preliminary budget that includes no increase in real estate taxes for the fifth consecutive year.

School directors voted 7-0 on Wednesday to approve the spending plan, which would keep the tax rate at 85.27 mills.

The preliminary budget has a deficit of nearly $1.9 million. It would be covered by using $1.42 million from the district’s fund balance and $850,000 from the pending sale of the former Fort Crawford Elementary School.

“Our district’s had only one tax increase in the last five years,” said Superintendent John Pallone.

The budget includes $22.34 million in revenue from the state and $1.8 million from the federal government.

Instruction costs from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade total $24.2 million, transportation costs are estimated at $1.7 million and debt service is budgeted to be $1.1 million.

New Kensington-Arnold’s share of the Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center’s budget for the next school year is projected to be about $415,600.

Officials said the budget is available for public inspection at the central administration building until the final vote, which is scheduled for June 27.

Fort Crawford sale

Pending Westmoreland County Court approval, a local public education era will end soon as the school district has reached to deal to sell the former Fort Crawford Elementary School building for $850,000 to the Salvation Army Corp. of New York (New Kensington branch).

Fort Crawford was closed in 2014 under a school district realignment to address declining enrollment.

The school dates back to the days when Parnassus was a separate municipality and school district until that community merged with New Kensington in 1931.

The playground adjacent to the school was once a combination football/baseball facility called Herr Stadium that both former high schools used.

That leaves the former Edgewood Elementary School on Knollwood Road as the last remaining property for sale by the school district.

Pallone indicated that property could be subdivided into buildable lots for residential homes.

In 2016, the school district sold the former Greenwald Elementary School to the Diocese of Greensburg.