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Mt. Lebanon School District’s preliminary budget includes tax increase

By Jacob Calvin Meyer staff Writer jmeyer@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
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Lebo’s preliminary budget includes tax increase

{child_byline}By Jacob Calvin Meyer

Staff writer

jmeyer@thealmanac.net

{/child_byline}

Lebo’s preliminary budget includes tax increase

{child_byline}By Jacob Calvin Meyer

Staff writer

jmeyer@thealmanac.net

{/child_byline}

The Mt. Lebanon School Board approved a preliminary 2018-19 budget during its Feb. 12 meeting that would include a sizeable tax hike.

The $99 million budget proposes a 0.73 mill increase, increasing from 23.93 to 24.66 mills. Since the district’s allotted Act. 1 Index is 2.4 percent, or 0.57 of a mill, the board will have to apply for exceptions to increase taxes above the index, which the board approved the district to apply for last month.

The preliminary budget, which was approved unanimously, would increase taxpayers’ real estate tax by $73 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. If passed later this year, the 2018-19 budget would be the fourth time in the last nine years the school board raised taxes above the Act 1 Index, though two of those instances – 2012-13 and 2014-15 – were barely above the threshold.

At its January discussion meeting, the board noted several “unknowns” with the 2018-19 budget, causing it to apply for the exceptions, including the teacher salary negotiations, increasing pensions and increasing healthcare costs.

Also during the meeting, the board discussed a proposed joint project with the municipality for a rifle range, which would be used by the police department and the high school’s rifle team.

The need for a rifle range, said board President Michael Riemer, goes back to the high school construction. The high school used to occupy a rifle range in the school, but it was not able to be included in the renovated high school due to “construction and engineering issues.”

Rather than work around those issues, which would cost the district at least $750,000, the board decided to have the high school rifle team practice at the Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club near Canonsburg.

Superintendent Tim Steinhauer said that while the district has been in talks with the municipality about a rifle range for years, it received a letter from Keith McGill, Mt. Lebanon’s municipal manager, last month about the joint project.

The proposed location for the rifle range is on Cedar Boulevard at the municipality’s existing public works yard, which is in walking distance from the high school.

The estimated cost of the project is $1.4, and Steinhauer and Riemer both said the district in past talks has been willing to provide $300,000, since the high school rifle team will use the facility for practices. Riemer called the rifle range a “win-win situation.”

“This has been a ongoing effort,” Riemer said. “The police department is in desperate need of a new range down there. This is an opportunity we have to be able to work with the municipality on saving money.”

Ronald Davis, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said the district pays $1,500 per student to participate in the rifle program, most of which comes from outsourcing the rifle range and traveling to it for practices.

“I know in speaking with (head rifle coach Dave) Willard, one of the complaints he’s had is the driving time to and from practices and meets,” Riemer said. “It’s actually cost him some students because it takes that much more time from the academics and the homework.”

Board member Larry Lebowitz said that while he agrees with Riemer that the rifle range is a “great opportunity” for the district, this remains a budget item for the board.

“Ultimately it’s going to come down to a budget issue,” Lebowitz said. “$300,000 is hard to come by when we’re sitting here in April. I don’t think we can make any decisions until we know what the dollars are going to be in April.”

Also during the meeting, the board also discussed the proposed 2018-19 capital projects fund budget.

Presented by Director of Facilities Rick Marciniak, the board examined the 60-item, $920,123 budget, which doesn’t include large projects like new turf and lights on the upper practice field or a new press box at the football stadium. “This list is our chance to be proactive as opposed to reactive,” Marciniak said.

The budget, Steinhauer said, is about what the average capital projects fund budget has been over the last 10 years.

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