Property owners in Upper St. Clair could see a 3% increase in school taxes.

The school district’s $111.57 million proposed budget raises the millage rate from 31.51 to 32.46.

A property owner with a home assessed at $237,300 would pay $7,703 annually in school taxes, a $224 increase from this year.

Upper St. Clair officials cite three factors that negatively impact the budget — Allegheny County’s common level ratio, and rising health care and electricity costs. Those factors, district officials say, represent more than a $2 million impact on the district’s budget.

“If not for these pressures, we would be recommending a tax freeze,” said Superintendent John Rozzo. “We are not cutting programming or limiting anything that our students have access to — in fact, we are growing it by adding a robotics center in our high schools next year.”

The common level ratio is used by the county to determine the fair market value of real estate properties. It provides a method to adjust a current sales price to reflect what the property would have sold for in 2012, the last time Allegheny County completed a reassessment.

A group of taxpayers sued Allegheny County in 2022, challenging the accuracy of the common level ratio. The common level ratio has reduced to 50.1% this year.

Scott Burchill, USC’s director of business and finance, said there are multiple commercial properties successfully appealing their assessments based on the common-level ratio.

“We are estimating $850,000 to $1 million in refunds,” he said. “This will continue to be an issue each year until there is a countywide reassessment.”

The budget includes a $980,000 increase in health care costs and a $375,000 increase in electricity expenses. Salaries and benefits account for 72% of the budget.

Through attrition, staffing levels will decrease by three positions with no impact on student programs, according to the district.

Local taxes make up 78% of district revenue. State funding accounts for 21% and federal funding is less than 1%.

The proposed budget uses $1.2 million from the district’s fund balance to offset one-time costs, including expiring leases.

A final vote on the budget is expected at a 7 p.m. meeting June 8 at the district administrative building, 1775 McLaughlin Run Road. A copy of the proposed budget is available on the district website and at the administrative building.