Plum School District’s preliminary budget for next year could add another tax bump for Plum property owners.
The district’s proposed budget, approved in a narrow 4-3 vote, would raise taxes almost 3%, taking the district’s millage rate from 23.9159 mills to 24.6190 mills.
That means, for a home at the school district’s median assessed value of about $118,000, the annual tax bill could jump by $83 to about $2,905, before any exclusions or discounts are applied.
The primary reason for the bump is inflation and increasing operational costs across the district, Superintendent Rick Walsh said.
At the same time Plum is seeing costs rise, however, Walsh said Plum remains “underfunded” by the state government. Adding to that, according to Walsh, is the lack of recent property assessments in Allegheny County’s largest borough.
The proposed budget has a $1 million deficit with revenues set at $79.7 million and expenditures pegged at $80.7 million. The district would use its fund balance to cover the deficit, which would pay for new buses, according to district Director of Finances and Operations John Zahorchak.
Between relatively flat basic education funding, the slow roll out of state “adequacy” funding and unfunded mandates, Zahorchak pegged some of the blame for financial difficulties on the government in Harrisburg.
Still, the budget would not cut any academic or extracurricular programs.
“It’s a balanced approach,” Zahorchak said. “It’s a win.”
A majority of revenues — 61.4% — are earmarked for employee salaries and benefits, while another 11.8% will go toward paying district debts.
Much of that debt is the result of a $30 million addition and renovations to O’Block Elementary School and other renovations at Plum Middle School. The district opted to borrow the $30 million over the course of the three years, the last $10 million of which will come this year.
As for revenue, the preliminary budget projects about $45.1 million from local sources, around $900,000 more than the current budget; $33.5 million from state sources, around $830,000 million more than the current budget; and about $908,000 from federal sources, about $153,00 more than the current budget.
During a presentation to the board, Zahorchak said Plum ranks near the bottom of Allegheny County districts in terms of actual budgeted dollars divided by students at about $20,000. He also said Plum has the highest student to staff ratio — about 17 students per 1 staff member — of any district in the county.
“When we talk about making staff cuts, we’re already there; there’s not much room,” Zahorchak said.
Board finance liaison Mark Stropkaj said Zahorchak and the district’s finance team managed to trim more than $1 million from the proposed budget, calling the proposal a “balanced, student-centered approach.”
Most of that came from the district opting to lease certain technology instead of buying it outright, bringing more facilities work in-house rather than relying on contractors as well as locking in fuel rates lower than the high consumer prices at the pump, Zahorchak said.
That wasn’t enough for Director Lindsay Arenth, who voted against the preliminary budget.
“It’s our responsibility to achieve our strategic goals through more rigorous budget management and fiscal discipline rather than relying on a third year of consecutive tax increases,” she said.
Last year, the board approved a 2.26% tax increase, which followed a 6.2% hike for the 2024-25 school year.
Director Michelle Stepnick, who also voted against the proposal, said she was concerned about a lack of planning for the district’s return to full-day kindergarten. Plum currently operates half-day kindergarten programs at two of its schools, which has proved to be a point of contention among many in the district.
“For me, I need to see that conversation,” she said.
With the multi-million dollar expansion of O’Block Elementary set to begin soon, Stepnick said she didn’t feel comfortable voting for the proposed budget without any long-term look at potential options for kindergarten.
Though she said the budget was solid otherwise, Stepnick plans to vote ‘no’ on the district’s final budget if the those discussion don’t begin soon.
Director Michael Caligiuri also voted against the preliminary budget, but he didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The board will likely vote on a final budget at its May 26 regular meeting at 6:30 p.m.
About the proposed tax hike
Here’s how a 2.94% tax increase would impact a home at Plum’s median assessed value of $118,000:
Current tax rate: 23.9159
Current tax bill: $2,822.
Proposed tax rate: 24.6190
Proposed tax bill: $2,905
Increase: $83