Penn-Trafford School Board will vote next week on a proposed $71.9 million budget, which could increase residents’ tax bills by about $200 annually.
District Business Manager Rebecca Rodriguez outlined Monday the proposed plan — a $1.9 million, or 2.8%, increase in spending from 2025-26. The board plans to vote on a preliminary budget Monday. It aims to propose a final budget on June 1 and adopt it on June 8.
The proposed budget would require the board to address a more than $1.5 million revenue shortfall, Rodriguez said. She pitched a 4-mill tax increase — bringing the tax rate to 97.87 mills and raising revenue by $1.3 million.
One mill brings the district $315,792, she said. The proposed tax increase would result in a $2,744 average tax bill for the district’s Westmoreland County residents. The average tax bill for the district’s Allegheny County residents was not immediately available.
The district’s average assessed value for Westmoreland homeowners is $28,040. It is $86,400 in Allegheny County, where about 51 properties were registered in the district last year.
Business manager details budget proposal
Salaries and benefits for staff make up the majority — 74% — of the district’s proposed spending plan, Rodriguez said. Most of its revenue, 55%, comes from local sources, and about 44% comes from the state.
Most of the remaining revenue comes from the federal government, but the district brings in $280,000 from renting the first floor of its administration building to Laurel Technical Institute.
The district expects to see several drops in revenue in 2026-27, Rodriguez said — including $50,000 in earned income tax collections, nearly $69,000 from the state’s transportation subsidy, $25,500 from the state’s defunct Plan Con program and $50,000 in access funds.
Rodriguez anticipates the district will see a combined $259,000 increase to its retirement, special ed and basic ed subsidies. It also could receive about $397,000 from the state’s adequacy formula — an effort to more equitably fund schools.
Retirements, resignations and deductions in workers compensation insurance would allow savings of $620,000 in 2026-27, she said.
Security, technology and utilities expenses are expected to increase. Salaries and benefits are expected to see the largest increase — $1.2 million. The district also is anticipating a higher student enrollment at the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center next school year, which would raise expenses by nearly $192,000, Rodriguez said.
‘It’s a really fine line that we need to walk’
Rodriguez encouraged the board to consider a consistent approach to raising taxes.
Pennsylvania sets a yearly limit, called the Act 1 Index, on how much a school district can raise property taxes without a voter referendum. It is designed to cap tax hikes in line with inflation, meaning it can change every year.
“It’s really important that we have a multi-year plan,” Rodriguez said, “because if you don’t tax when you can, then as the index falls, you’re not going to have that capability… It’s a really fine line that we need to walk.”
The proposed 4-mill tax hike would be the highest increase in the past five years. The district raised taxes by 3 mills in 2025-26.
With a tax hike between 1 and 3 mills, Penn-Trafford would need to reduce its debt service payments and reduce its staff to address its budget deficit, Rodriguez said. It would need to reduce debt service payments, reduce its staff and cut select programs if no tax increase were implemented.
The exact staff and program cuts that would need to be made have not yet been determined, she said.
Board member John Otto expressed concerns about relying too heavily on the district’s $6 million savings account to cover a budget deficit.
“Four years, we have taken from our savings account to cover our operational budget,” he said, “and that leaves us in a place where a tax increase to the index level will not even cover our current expenses.”
Board member Dallas Leonard said the district could benefit from a bolstered commercial tax base.
“We don’t have the commercial tax base a lot of our peers do,” he said. “The Route 22 corridor, Route 30 corridor — we don’t have that.”
Penn Township has worked through a rezoning plan in recent years to diversify its tax base with more businesses. About 84% of the township’s real estate taxes come from residential taxpayers.
Board President Philip Kochasic complimented the district staff for producing a quality education on a budget.
“We’ve already proven as a district it’s not the amount of money that you throw into trying to educate a student, because we do that as one of the best,” he said.