The administration building of Pittsburgh Public Schools in Oakland. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)
by Oliver Morrison, PublicSource
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board voted Wednesday to increase property taxes by 3%, which will bring in an estimated $5.3 million next year in additional revenue.
The tax increase will cost residents $30 on every $100,000 of assessed value on their property.
The district is currently facing a $56 million budget deficit, and the only major options for closing the gap that have recently been discussed by the board are raising taxes, laying off staff and closing schools.
The majority of the budget deficit comes from a combination of shrinking enrollment and increased spending during former Superintendent Anthony Hamlet’s administration, including payroll for more than 150 additional staff. The district is also spending more on teacher pension costs and increased charter school enrollment, trends that predate Hamlet’s tenure.
Ronald Joseph, the district’s chief financial officer, said at the Dec. 8 budget meeting that he had drawn up some “really doomsday nuclear option items” where whole programs and whole departments might have to be cut in future budgets to close the district’s large deficit.
The district is spending COVID relief money to cover part of its current deficit but has said it won’t be able to pass a balanced budget in 2023 without more revenue or decreased spending. The district plans to hold meetings in the coming year to try to make “thoughtful” changes rather than rushing them through, Joseph said.
“We basically have a year to stabilize, then we have to start the first wave of major cuts,” said Joseph at the Dec. 8 budget meeting.
The tax narrowly passed, with five members voting in favor and four members voting against. The five members who voted in favor of the new tax plan were all endorsed by the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. Board member Bill Gallagher was the only board member endorsed by the teacher’s union who voted against the plan.
Read entire article here