New Kensington-Arnold School Board approves preliminary budget with 8% tax hike

The new president of the New Kensington-Arnold School Board says they have no choice but to raise property taxes, but the board’s past president says it should consider cutting staff instead.

“Education will not be sacrificed,” said board President John Cope, who was elected in November. “Isn’t that why the school’s here?”

But Robert Pallone, who Cope replaced as president, says teacher cuts must be considered.

“We have a school we cannot afford,” Pallone said. “We’re not willing to do what it takes to get it in line.”

The school board has approved a preliminary budget for the 2020-21 school year, signaling the district intends to increase property taxes by more than its limit imposed by the state.

Pallone and Chelsea Stone cast the only votes against the proposed spending plan.

“I’m not really convinced on raising taxes just yet,” Stone said after the vote. “We should have a little more discussion on it.”

Under the 3.9% limit, the district can increase its property tax rate by up to 3.32 mills without voters approving the tax hike in a referendum. The board has approved applying for exceptions from a referendum based on special education costs, which business Manager Jeff McVey says would allow the district to increase the tax rate by an additional 3.68 mills, for a total of 7 mills.

If approved when a final budget is adopted in June, that would increase the district’s property tax rate from 85.27 mills to 92.27 mills.

For the owner of a home with an assessed value of $20,000, that would add $140 to the school property tax bill, increasing it from $1,705 to $1,845.

Even with a tax increase, the district would spend more than it takes in and would empty its reserves, McVey said.

The budget has proposed spending of $38.96 million on revenue of $38.48 million, including revenue from the tax increase and the district’s remaining fund balance. That leaves a deficit of about $473,500, according to McVey.

Pallone said the school district can’t pile on another property tax increase after residents were already hit with increases from Westmoreland County and the City of New Kensington. The county approved a 2.4% increase; New Kensington passed a 3% hike.

“We just jump to the conclusion that the budget is what it is and we need a tax increase,” Pallone said. “We need to do the due diligence.”

The district has “right-sized” itself by closing and selling buildings, and taking other measures to save money, Pallone said.

It now needs to do the same by reducing its staff — New Kensington-Arnold has more teachers than neighboring and similarly sized Burrell School District, Pallone said.

“We can’t be gun-shy anymore,” he said. “We have to make those tough decisions.”

While Pallone points to school years and budgets that had no property tax increases, Cope says that’s why the district is facing the need for a hefty tax increase now.

Property taxes should have been increased “little by little” every year, Cope said.

“We have to raise taxes. There’s no other way. It should have been done years ago,” he said. “Everybody understands there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

With the district running a deficit even with a tax increase, Cope said he doesn’t see where cuts could be made to reduce it. “I don’t see where there’s any fat in this budget,” he said.

Rather than cutting staff, Cope said he would hope to add employees.

“Education gets hurt when you cut faculty and when you increase class size,” he said. “Hopefully, we don’t have to do that.”