Peters school board discusses taxes, high school construction
View from Center Church Road in February
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Construction progresses on the new Peters Township High School, as viewed from East McMurray Road.
Source: Peters Township School District
The Peters Township School District real estate tax rate will not rise by more than 2.3 percent for 2019-20.
The school board voted Jan. 22 to stay within the parameters of the index established for the district for the coming fiscal year in accordance with Act 1 of 2006, representing the maximum allowable increase without applying for an exception.
The current rate is 13.5 mills, and an increase of 2.3 percent would be .3105 mills, representing an extra $31.05 for each $100,000 of a property’s assessed value. The increase for 2018-19 was .31 mills, matching the district’s index for the current year of 2.4 percent.
To finance the construction of a new high school, the district plans to implement a total increase of 1.57 mills spread out over five years, according to information presented in conjunction with the 2018-19 budget.
A preliminary 2019-20 budget presented at a Jan. 14 school board finance committee meeting shows an estimated $68.313 million in expenditures. Projected revenue with no tax increase is $67.147 million, which would result in a “budget gap” of $1.166 million.
The gap narrows to $209,974 with a .3105-mill increase taken into consideration, according to the preliminary numbers, which show staff and debt service as some of the major cost drivers for the next fiscal year.
Salaries will increase $1.11 million, or 3.6 percent, over 2018-2019, and the district’s obligation to the Public School Employees’ Retirement System rises by $644,933. Pension costs have increased from 3.6 percent of the district’s operating expenses in 2007-2008 to 16.02 percent in 2019-2020, the preliminary budget states.
With the new high school under construction, debt service costs are projected to increase by $745,694 and account for 9.7 percent of total District expenditures in 2019-20. That project is right on track, according to information presented during the meeting.
“It’s just a struggle with the weather right now, which is pretty much expected,” Stephen Reckhart, on-site construction manager for Reynolds Solutions, told the board during a project update.
The new school is targeted for opening in 2020 at the former site of Rolling Hills Country Club, with access from East McMurray and Center Church roads. Reynolds, which is based in Harrisburg and has a regional office in Oakmont, is providing construction management services. At this point, retaining structures are in place as part of the school’s foundation.
“The caisson crew is about 95 percent complete,” Reckhart said. “They’ve actually pulled off the job right now. They need some grading work done before they can come back and drill. There are 13 caissons left to do.”
Masonry contractors continue to work on the walls.
“In the beginning of February, we should be mobilized and start setting structural steel on the ground floor,” Reckhart reported.
He said that plumbing contractors are off the job for now and will return in late March or early April, as anticipated. Contractors are performing asbestos abatement in a Center Church Road house on property purchased by the district, with demolition to take place soon. Part of the site will be used in a reconfigured intersection for the road to access the new school.
“It wasn’t extensive,” Reckhart said about the abatement work. “There was a little bit of floor tile, some tape on some ductwork and a little bit of caulking.”
In another matter related to finances, the school board approved the single audit report prepared by certified public accounting firm Hosack, Speck, Muetzel & Wood LLP for the 2017-18 fiscal year, as presented at the prior week’s finance committee meeting.