Dec 15, 2015 By Terry Kish 2 min read

Upper St. Clair School Board voted unanimously to make the 2016-17 preliminary general fund budget available for review to the public, to be posted on the district’s website.

The action came at the board’s Dec. 14 meeting and was needed to meet a January deadline to file a preliminary budget with the state Department of Education in order to exceed the Act 1 index to raise taxes, if needed.

The district’s 2016-17 Act index is 2.8 percent, based on district financial data and other factors, is set by the state and represents the maximum amount by which Upper St. Clair can raise property taxes without applying for an exemption.

The early version of the budget includes a 3 percent inflation factor and no increase in state funding. The Public School Employees Retirement System employer rate increases from 25.84 to 30.037 in 2016-17, representing an $828,000 net increase in state-mandated pension obligations to PSERS.

The board is expected to vote on the preliminary budget at its Jan. 25 meeting. Superintendent Patrick O’Toole said a failure to approve would mean the district could not raise taxes beyond the index, if such a measure were deemed necessary.

In other business Dec. 14:

• The board recognized several retirees, including Ellie Stoehr, supervisor of pupil personnel services, who is retiring after 22 years with the district.

• Also recognized were members of the high school girls’ soccer team for winning the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Class AAA championship. The team claimed the title this November in a 2-1 victory over Central Bucks East at Hershey.