Mt. Pleasant Area School Board OKs proposed $38.8M budget, potential 3-mill tax hike

Mt. Pleasant Area School District residents would face a 3-mill property tax hike under a proposed $38.8 million 2024-2025 budget based on a worst-case scenario.

But district officials say they hope to trim that tax increase by June 26, when the school board is scheduled to vote on a final version of the budget.

Business manager J.R. Dzurica noted at this week’s school board meeting that several factors affecting next year’s district finances remained to be determined.

He said the proposed budget is calculated on a potential $480,000 increase in the district’s basic state subsidy, to about $11.1 million — representing half of the funding increase proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro.

“If we get what the governor says, it’s going to change a lot,” Dzurica said.

Other unknowns include several federal funding allocations and employment terms for members of a bargaining unit representing custodians and maintenance workers, whose current contract will expire on June 30.

“We’ve met a couple times and we’re making some good progress,” Dzurica said of contract negotiations. “We hope to have that settled before passing the (final) budget.”

A special board meeting is planned on June 12, to allow for additional public discussion of the budget, according to district Superintendent Timothy Gabauer.

Solicitor Gary Matta said the school board can decrease the proposed millage hike when it adopts the final budget but, under state guidelines, can’t increase it at that point.

“Even though we have a budget with a 3-mill tax increase today, that is not saying that will be the final budget,” Matta said Wednesday. “Hopefully, we can work to make that a lesser amount. We had to make sure we had our worst-case scenario approved this evening.”

“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Dzurica. “We’re going to keep working until we get a good budget.”

The board approved the proposed district budget by a 5-3 vote on Wednesday.

With John Weinman absent, the tentative spending plan was approved by board President Ryan Bann, Julie Lovis, Allison Brooks, Brad Coppula and Don Seder. Dru Knopsnider, Eric Poole and Sean Hribal were opposed.

“I didn’t want to see (taxes) raised that much, not that they’re going to be,” said Knopsnider. “Things are hard enough as it is for people.”

Mt. Pleasant Area’s real estate tax increased by 1 mill in 2021 and by the same amount in 2023, resulting in the current rate of 92.82 mills.

If a 3-mill increase would be imposed in the coming school year, it would add $50.19 to the tax bill of a homeowner whose property has a median assessed value of $16,730 — or an actual market value of about $167,000, according to Dzurica.

Each mill generates about $155,000 in tax revenue for the district.

The proposed budget includes expenditures of $38.8 million, up by 4.21% from the current year, and total revenues of $38.4 million, up by 4.38% — for a deficit of $379,693.

District health insurance costs are increasing by $279,000, or 12%. Mt. Pleasant Area officials expect to save about $82,000 by replacing three veteran teachers, who are taking advantage of an early retirement incentive, with new hires. Three elementary classroom aide positions are being added, with the $75,000 cost covered by federal funds.

Between 95 and 100 local students attend cyber charter schools, for which the district pays $1.6 million in tuition.

The budget includes $32,000 for refinishing the junior high gym floor, which hasn’t occurred in about 25 years, $25,o00 for partial replacement of high school classroom chairs, $10,000 to replace the swimming pool record board and $10,000 for a new electric pallet jack and replacement carpet scrubber at Ramsay Elementary.

The district has about $550,000 in remaining funds from the expiring Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program that must be spent by Sept. 30. That includes $500,000 slated for replacement of student devices and $20,000 for a new online registration platform.

“Parents will be able to register their kids online instead of having to show up at the office of the school,” Dzurica said.

Three programs that had been paid for through ESSER funds are included instead as proposed general fund items next year: $135,000 for the Viking Online Learning Academy; $67,000 for an afterschool program; $41,000 for a summer enrichment program.

“We’re going to have to decide moving forward if we’re going to be able to keep these in the general fund budget,” Dzurica said.

The district has plans for spending two Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency grants next school year: $124,389, to support continued employment of behavior specialists and an attendance monitor; $35,000, covering part-time wages for the school police force and replacement of exterior door locks.

Dzurica said the district has seen its unassigned fund balance drop from a peak of $5.9 million in the 2021-2022 school year to a projected $3.1 million at the end of the current school year, as money has been drawn from it for some capital projects.

Under the proposed budget approved Wednesday, the fund balance would be depleted further in 2024-2025 — to a projected $2.7 million, or 7% of the total district spending plan.

The fund balance should be no less than 5% of budgeted expenses, according to Dzurica.

“We’re going to be getting close to the danger zone if we keep utilizing our fund balance and budgeting at a deficit,” he said. “$1.9 million is the lowest we want to go in the fund balance.”

The school board approved the 2024-2025 budget of about $10.8 million for the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center. Mt. Pleasant Area, one of nine member school districts, will see its share of the budget costs increase by about $121,000, to $940,366.

Mt. Pleasant Area student enrollment at CWCTC is increasing, Dzurica said. “Some of the grants they’ve used to offset the tuition in the past have kind of gone away,” he said.