The Mt. Lebanon school board is weighing a property tax increase between 0.46 and 0.55 mills and somewhere between $870,00 and $960,000 in budget cuts to make up a shortfall in the 2013-2014 school year. Board members expressed interest in returning money to taxpayers through unused fund balance if governor Tom Corbett’s proposed state budget succeeds in mitigating a rise in pension contributions, as well as the possibility of a memorandum of understanding with teachers regarding pay increases or in-service days.

The coming year’s budget gap is primarily the result of a proposed increase in the Pennsylvania State Educators Retirement System (PSERS) from 12.36 percent to 16.93 percent – equivalent to a .47 mill tax increase.

The board heard a presentation on this and other budget pressures at its March 11 discussion meeting. In addition to the pension rate hike, the district faces a five percent increase in healthcare costs and a grievance filed by the teachers’ union, the MLEA.

The final impact of the most recent round of property assessments also remains to be seen. Tax collection rates may fall depending on the number of appeals outstanding.

“No one on this board likes to increase taxes, just like nobody likes to pay higher taxes,” said board vice-president Lawrence Lebowitz. “However, I am in favor of increasing taxes to the extent necessary to find a middle ground between higher taxes and budget cuts.”

School superintendent Dr. Tim Steinhauer explained that given a .55 mill tax increase, he believed the district could find the necessary cost savings without significantly impacting student programming. Staff attrition, adjustments to data warehousing and reductions in travel expenses for school board, teachers and administrators would all help close the budget gap.

Board members Scott Goldman and Dale Ostergaard each advocated for a much lower millage increase, from zero to .25 mills.

“Our budget is dominated by personnel costs,” Ostergaard said. “That’s what we’re dealing with and really have been dealing with the last few years. We should ask the employees and collective bargaining units to participate in this program of shared sacrifice.”

The administration will move forward by gathering additional information on the board’s proposed direction.

The district’s final budget is due in May.

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