Jun 29, 2016 By Cara Host 3 min read

Property taxes have been going up in the Bethel Park School District every year for the past two decades, but not next year.

The school board on June 28 adopted an $83.5 million budget for 2016-17 that holds the real estate tax rate steady at 22.8763 mills.

The board also settled the looming uncertainty with the teachers’ union. A few days before the labor contract was set to expire, the board and Bethel Park Federation of Teachers approved a one-year extension.

“This will let us concentrate on our most important job: educating the students of Bethel Park,” Donna Cook, board president, said.

The new contract will run through June 30, 2017. Teachers will see a $950 salary increase, and their in-service days will be decreased by one. All other terms remain unchanged from the current contract. Negotiators from the district and teachers’ union will spend the next year working on a longer pact.

“This agreement provides a solid foundation for a long-term deal for our membership,” William Wells, teachers’ union president, said in a press release. “We look forward to getting back to the negotiating table to diligently work out the next agreement with the school district.”

Next year’s budget is slightly less than 1 percent larger than the 2015-16 spending plan. To save money, the board cut several positions by not filling vacancies caused by retirements and combined other positions. The district also reduced its debt service payments by refinancing bonds that were incurred to build the high school.

“We are pleased to be in this position,” board member Connie Ruhl said about holding the tax rate steady, “given there are so many school districts who are not.”

The district, however, still faces financial pressures from rising pension costs and the uncertainty of state subsidies.

As a result, Bethel Park will dip into savings to balance the budget. The district is set to withdraw $439,529 from its fund balance, which stands at about $5 million.

Director Pamela Dobos said she had reservations about using the district’s reserves to balance the budget. Nevertheless, she voted for the budget and it passed 8-0, with Russ Spicuzza absent from the June 28 meeting.

The board also approved raises of 2 percent to administrative staff and secretaries for next year.

Joe Johns, president of the girls’ volleyball boosters, has long advocated for raising coaches’ salaries and said it would be worth a tax increase to make that happen. Board members thanked Johns for his diligence on the issue, but the coaches’ salaries will be unchanged under the teachers’ contract extension.

“With all due respect, the board’s priorities on this issue are misplaced,” Johns told the board.