Apr 11, 2016 By Harry Funk 3 min read

A preliminary final 2016-17 budget discussed at Mt. Lebanon School Board’s April 11 discussion meeting calls for a real estate tax increase of .56 mills.

That represents the amount necessary to balance projected revenues against $95 million in expenditures. Board members have directed district administrators to find further cost reductions and sources of income to lessen the amount of the tax increase prior to the budget’s adoption, planned for May 23. Approval of the preliminary version is expected at the board’s April 18 meeting, after which it will be posted for at least 30 days prior to the final vote.

Expenditures have been reduced by about $592,000 since the board approved a preliminary budget in January, with much of that coming from staffing considerations and lower utility costs, according to Steinhauer.

The inflationary index established for Mt. Lebanon under Pennsylvania Act 1 of 2006 allows the district to raise real estate taxes by a maximum of .57 mills for the coming academic year, without seeking an exception.

Because the district qualifies for the exception under two stipulations ¬- increased costs for special education and Mt. Lebanon’s mandated contribution to the unfunded liability of the state Public School Employees’ Retirement System – the ceiling could go as high as 1.03 mills without the proposal going to referendum.

The owner of property with an assessed value of $200,000 would pay an additional $112 if a .56-mill increase is adopted along with the budget,

Of that amount, .38 mills represents the PSERS contribution, which amounts to about $1 million for the district, according to Klein.

She said that projected revenues in the budget do not include any increase over 2015-16 in basic education funding from the state.

They do, however, take into account the $1.3 million the state owes the district for Planning and Construction Workbook reimbursements through the Department of Education. Without that money, the real estate tax rate would have to rise by another .5 mills to balance the budget.

PlanCon, a process by which districts are reimbursed for major construction projects, entails a series of forms, all of which Mt. Lebanon has submitted for upgrades to its elementary and middle schools, along with the nearly completed high school renovation.

The district has received money in the past toward the former projects but nothing for the latter, Klein said, for which the state is supposed to have supplied a total of $3.1 million to this point.

She said she believes, though, that state elected officials are close to working out a deal by which districts will be reimbursed.

Another source of revenue is Mt. Lebanon’s undesignated fund balance, as the school board has agreed for the third year in a row to use $750,000 toward the budget.

The current real estate tax rate is 23.55 mills, following a .4-mill increase for 2015-16. In Mt. Lebanon, 1 mill generates $2.65 million in revenue.