Mt. Lebanon set to raise school property tax rate for 2018-19
The Mt. Lebanon School Board approved a tentative budget for the 2018-19 school year with a 0.4-mill increase.
The $98,208,314 budget would increase the property tax rate from 23.93 mills to 24.33, meaning a $40 increase for every $100,000 of assessed property value.
In past meetings, the board has said a millage increase in 2018-19 is due to increases in the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System and healthcare, teacher negotiations, state budget, among several other factors.
Director of communications Cissy Bowman said after the meeting that the board also added in a new element to the recent budget, including funding for a position focused on school safety or wellness, such as a school resource officer, psychologist or an extra counselor.
“It’s a position yet to be defined,” Superintendent Tim Steinhauer said. “We did put a placeholder in there as far as money. The board will be considering relevant information and research, administration recommendations and community input prior to determining to what that personnel position is.”
The amount of tax increase has fallen in recent months, though, as the board’s preliminary budget in February projected a 0.73-mill hike and a 0.54-mill increase in March. The board did not raise taxes last year, and the average tax increase has been 0.48 mills over the last 12 years. The board will take $750,000 from the fund balance to help balance the budget and alleviate the tax burden.
The board will vote on the final budget at its May 21 meeting.