Riverview School District is proposing a 2% real estate tax increase as part of its $25.9 million general fund budget for the 2023-24 school year.

School board members cited uncertainty in state and federal funding and rising costs as reasons for the increase, which would raise the tax rate for Verona and Oakmont property owners by 0.4734 mills, from 23.6675 to 24.1409.

According to district business manager Joan Wehner, for a home worth $200,000, the tax increase would amount to about $95 per year. She said a 2% increase is needed to balance the budget.

The district will host a public hearing about the proposed budget — which the board approved May 15 — at 7 p.m. June 5 at Tenth Street Elementary School. The board will vote on adopting a final version later in the month.

The proposed spending plan is available at www.rsd.k12.pa.us/Businessoffice.aspx, and copies are at the district’s central office.

At the May 15 meeting, Jeanine Hurt-Robinson, board president, said she doesn’t think the 2% is a “great deal to ask,” especially because the district didn’t raise taxes during the covid-19 pandemic because of widespread financial uncertainty among residents.

“There’s an increased cost attached to everything nowadays, whether it’s your gas, your utilities, groceries,” she said. “Whatever it is that you are purchasing as a consumer, you’re paying a greater cost.”

Jennifer Chaparro, board vice president, said she thinks the tax increase is warranted so the district doesn’t have to eliminate programs or personnel.

“To me, that’s a much costlier long-term problem to have to correct than to say we’re going to have people pay another $5 or $10 a month,” Chaparro said, adding that it would be “irresponsible” to adopt a budget without adequate savings to serve as a “cushion” in case of an emergency.

Chaparro also said the district is in a “tough position,” along with other schools across Pennsylvania, because of unpredictability in state funding for basic and special education. Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed a more than $560 million increase to basic education funding and a $103 million increase to special education funding.

“It’s not like we’re blindly saying, ‘Oh, sure, let’s increase taxes,’ ” Chaparro said. “We’re blindly trying to create a budget when we don’t have all the details yet, which is really hard.”

The proposed 2% increase is less than half of Riverview’s 4.1% state Act 1 index, which represents the maximum by which a school district can raise taxes for the next fiscal year. The index is calculated by averaging increases in the statewide average weekly wage and the federal employment cost index for elementary and secondary schools, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

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