Pattye Benson

Community Matters

Tredyffrin Easttown School District

Tax Study Group to Present EIT Findings . . . Will Yellow Signs by Republican Candidates Influence Residents?

October 20, 2011
23 Comments

As part of the budget process for the T/E School District, a Tax Study Group composed of community volunteers was formed to determine the impact of an earned income tax (EIT) on residents and the school district. The goal of the group was to identify the pros and cons of an EIT for residents and then present their findings in a public presentation to the community. The Tax Study Group will offer its findings on Thursday, November 3 at 1 PM at the T/E Administration office, 940 W. Valley Rd, Suite 1700, Wayne and again at 7 PM at the Valley Forge Middle School, 105 W. Walker Road, Wayne. Please plan to attend so that you can make an informed decision on EIT (in the event it is on the Primary Election ballot in April 2012.

I have expressed my disappointment that the Republican candidates (school board and supervisor) took an advance stand against an earned income tax prior to the presentation of the Tax Study Group. In fairness to the process, and to the volunteer’s time of those serving on the study group, why not wait until after the presentation of the EIT before publicly declaring that you are against it. The severity of our school district’s economic situation requires that all options be explored – the presentation by the Tax Study Group on the earned income tax is one of those options.

An ‘As I See It’ article written by John Petersen, resident of Paoli appeared in the Main Line Suburban newspaper a couple of weeks ago. The article was written shortly after the first bright yellow, ‘no EIT’ signs began appearing in the township. Because the article was not included on Main Line Media’s online site, I could not provide a link on Community Matters.

It is with permission from the author, that I include the article below:

As I See It: Those little yellow GOP signs: proof the GOP does not respect you

If you have been driving around Tredyffrin (since this is not a walking township), you may have noticed a new type of yellow growth sprouting up all over the place. Naturalists have classified it as Fungi Reipublicae. In fact, these yellow growths are actually a new version of the yellow GOP signs that we saw in 2007. These signs come in two flavors: “No Earned Income Tax” and “Top Ranked Schools.” Both cite that you should “Vote Republican”. Let’s break down the claims.

No Earned Income Tax

This sign would have you think that there is an active question in front of the voters and that if you vote Republican, you will be saved from the evils of an Earned Income Tax. Let’s set aside the fact that many already pay an EIT for a moment and instead, concentrate on the straw man argument that Tredyffrin GOP is perpetuating. In fact, there is an earned income tax study committee that has been commissioned by the school board. That committee was first suggested by Republican school board member Kevin Mahoney. To review, there is no active tax question in front of the voters and the only group that is studying the feasibility of an EIT in Tredyffrin was suggested by a Republican.

Top Ranked Schools

It’s true, T/E Schools are quite good. The Tredyffrin Republican Committee would have you believe that Republicans, and Republicans alone are responsible for our “top ranked schools.” In fact, there are a number of Democrats on the school board. I guess they have nothing to do with the successes. Fine, let’s give all the credit to the Republicans. But if we do that, let’s examine the whole cloth. Of Lower Merion, Radnor and T/E, is T/E the best? In terms of facilities, absolutely not. While T/E has retrofitted old buildings, both Lower Merion and Radnor have made a commitment to invest in infrastructure, the type that is required for children to get a top-notch public education in the 21st century. As for test scores, college acceptance, etc – Lower Merion and Radnor are at least as good as T/E.

How about labor relations? T/E is definitely not at the top of the class there? How about fiscal responsibility? T/E is about 9 Million in the hole. You know all of the sweetheart deals for teachers the Republicans are complaining about? Guess what, it’s the Republican led school board that has consistently given the unions what they wanted. At the same time, they are not keen on paying for it. Those same Republicans have consistently raised our property taxes year after year. And yet they are the same people who claim to be protecting us from the evils of an earned income tax.

Any organization that would try and sell the political rhetoric that we see in these yellow signs clearly does not respect their customer. The Republicans believe that we are all too stupid and too quick to fall into the fear trap. The Republicans are banking on the fact that we will believe the scare tactics that the other side is just out to tax and spend our money. Seems to me, the Tredyffrin Republicans have done a good job of that on their own already. They don’t need help from anybody! And never forget, the Tredyffrin Republicans is the party of Bob Lamina, and Paul Olson. If that is not enough reason to give the Tredyffrin Republicans a vote of no confidence, I don’t know what is.

John Petersen
Paoli, PA

 

Local Elections Matter . . . Will you vote on November 8?

October 10, 2011
6 Comments

Take your pick – empty storefronts and vacant office buildings, roads and bridges in desperate need of repair, unemployment, environmental issues, such as storm water, dropping real estate values, rising taxes. Where do we start . . . how do we prioritize the issues? Tredyffrin Township may have fared better than some other areas of the country, but we have not escaped these problems. It may have taken longer for us to feel the pain . . . loss of jobs or a decrease in property values, but for many in our community, the problems now are very real.

There is a dark mood in the country about the high unemployment and Washington’s constant bickering over how to solve pressing problems. The economic gloom shows in cutbacks, layoffs, bailouts and outright bankruptcies; what is it going to take to move this country forward in morale, reward and recognition.

Like everyone else in this country, the residents of Tredyffrin are looking for solutions. In four short weeks, on Tuesday, November 8, it will be Election Day . . . we need to elect people who have forward-looking vision for this community. We need problem-solvers with specific solutions.

There are obvious signs throughout the township that the countdown to Election Day has begun . . . political lawn signs appear to reproduce nightly, candidate mailers are arriving daily at our doors and in our mailboxes along with invitations to political fundraisers.

Local elections do matter. Voting matters. Voting is really about affecting the country around you. There’s a feeling that local elections don’t matter which sometimes translates into ‘why’ bother. From the federal government to the state governor’s mansion to our local school board. Top to bottom, friends, our family and ‘us’ make a difference with our votes. We saw in the recent special election for supervisor that the result came down to a few votes. Your vote could be the vote that makes a difference!

All registered voters in Tredyffrin Township have an opportunity to select township supervisors and school board directors as well as county commissioners, district attorney, district judge and township auditor. The League of Women Voters has planned a debate for the Tredyffrin supervisor candidates for Monday, October 24, 7 PM at the township building. The following night on Tuesday, October 25, a debate is planned for 7 PM at the township building for the school board candidates.

We have a responsibility to our community. Let’s keep making Tredyffrin better, by voting on November 8. Local elections do matter.

T/E School District’s Tax Study Group Kicks Off Earned Income Tax Process

September 15, 2011
27 Comments

The T/E School District held its first meeting of the newly created Tax Study Group. Thank you to Ray Clarke for attending and providing Community Matters with his personal observations and comments. I spoke at length with Ray in regards to the meeting. Based on our conversation and Ray’s notes below, it looks like the Tax Study Group could use the assistance of a tax attorney. If there is someone living in Tredyffrin or Easttown with that expertise, perhaps they could offer their assistance in the school district’s EIT project.

Below are Ray Clarke’s comments from the Tax Study Group meeting:

The kick-off meeting for the TESD Tax Study Group (TSG) was held on Thursday. It was a long meeting, focused on bringing the TSG up to speed on basic district financial and demographic information. The TSG clearly has a long way to go, but at the end some organization emerged that leaves me hopeful for the outcome. I think it will be important that they formalize a way to get direct community input. Some observations:

  • The TSG was supported by Art McDonnell and the same consultant from the PSBA that worked on the 2006 exercise. A majority of the Board was in the audience, plus Tredyffrin Supervisor Mike Heaberg and about half a dozen community members.
  • The core of the meeting was a presentation of basic district data by the consultant. Hopefully the large binder will be a good reference, but more focus might have helped. Also, much of the data was dated and there were a disappointing number of mistakes – one important one alertly caught by Ed Stevens of the TSG. But, good info on the district’s personal income and assessed values, both trends and distribution, which will definitely be important factors in the analysis.
  • My selection of good TE rules of thumb and factoids for armchair analysts (it was stated that the materials will be available on the TESD web site):

– $2.3 billion of personal income

– $5 billion of property assessment, distributed according to the 80/20 rule.

– Median household income for Tredyffrin ~$100,000, for Easttown ~$130,000

– 25% of the TE population under 18;

– 16% over 65 (both percentages higher in Eastown and lower in Tredyffrin).

– Huge bubble in earned and personal income in 2007 – up more than 30% over the previous year.

  • TSG organization: William Mullin emerged as the organizing force.
  • No meeting on September 29th; other meetings will last from 7 to 9:30pm. Possible final presentation to the community on November 3.
  • The objective of the TSG was reinforced many times: to present a set of Pros and Cons to the Board for consideration. In my opinion the TSG will provide the greatest service if it ensures that the set is driven by data and analysis, not anecdote.
  • One important area for up-to-date, authoritative data: what will be the impact of an EIT on Philadelphia workers? Can TE levy an EIT on those wages, or otherwise get any benefit (gaming revenues?). Under what conditions, and what are the (quantified) odds of those conditions applying? This will have an important impact on the possible revenues and the number of residents affected.

Finally . . . Contract Agreement between Unionville-Chadds Ford School District & Teachers Union – Any lessons for T/E?

September 13, 2011
40 Comments

The Unionville-Chadds Ford (UCF) school district and their teachers union have finally agreed on a contract. The UCF School District teacher’s contract expired June 30, 2010. Based on UCF contract results, any lessons for T/E school district?

I have posted periodically about UCF and the ongoing saga between the school board and the teachers union. Unable to resolve their contract issues, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board appointed attorney Mariann Schick in late December 2010 to help with the bargaining impasse through a fact-finder report.

Students from the UCS and T/E school districts enjoy similar academic performances – both top performing school districts. On the SAT and PSSA performance, both school districts score in the top 1% statewide. T/E School District ranks #2 for SAT scores and UCF is ranked at #5 on the SAT. Due to the similarity of the academic performances in the UCS and T/E school districts, I have followed UCS school districts contract negotiations.

This is the last year in the T/E school district teacher contract . . . will there be similar conflict between members of our board and the teacher union? The teachers of UCF worked for over a year without a contract as negotiations played out. Do you think that there is any relationship between teachers working without a contract and the academic performance of the school district?

So what did the UCF school board and teachers union finally agreed to? Terms include:

  • Year 1 (2010-11) no pay increase for 2010-11
  • Year 2 (2011-12) 1% increase on the pay schedule, step movement, prep level movement
  • Year 3 (2012-13) $300 in each cell on the matrix, $700 one-time bonus, step movement, prep level movement

One of the sticking points in the UCF school board – teacher contract negotiations had been healthcare. In the agreement, the teachers will contribute 7.5% in 2011-12 and 10% in 2012-13 toward their healthcare costs.

The agreement has an interesting component for UCF high school teachers — they will be required to participate in one open house plus an additional event per year (second open house, parent conference, field trip, school performance, etc.) I found it interesting that this element was included in the contract – it would seem that teacher’s dedication to their students would dictate their involvement in activities with the requirement that a contract forcing them to attend.

To read Unionville-Chadds Ford school district tentative teacher’s contract, click here.

Tredyffrin Township Budget Workshop & T/E School Board meeting updates

August 24, 2011
3 Comments

Monday was township’s budget workshop as well as the T/E School Board meeting. I attended the school board meeting and fortunately for us, Ray Clarke attended the budget workshop. Thank you Ray for attending and for providing your notes to Community Matters readers.

The long-range budget and economic situation continues as a major discussion of the school board directors. During the school board meeting, we were reminded of the Citizen Tax Study Group. The group was set-up to study the “possible effects of an earned income tax and presenting research to the school board and community”. The Tax Study Group meetings are open to the public. Here are the meeting dates and times from the T/E school district website:

Thursday, September 8, 2011 – 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, September 29, 2011 – TBD
Thursday, September 15, 2011 – TBD
Thursday, October 6, 2011 – TBD
Thursday, September 22, 2011 – TBD
Thursday, October 13, 2011 – TBD

Based on Ray’s notes from the township budget workshop, we can certainly see that our township is not exempt from the worsening economic climate. Township staff and services have seen major cuts so I’m not sure how the supervisors are going to manage to hold the line on no tax increases. On the revenue side, we do not see any significant commercial real estate transfers in the near future, so …what’s the answer?

According to Ray, there will be another township budget workshop (date not confirmed) that will focus on capital projects. This budget workshop had no mention of the township building’s HVAC system — I remember discussion between the supervisors and Steve Norcini that there were major problems with the current system so it will be curious to see if the HVAC system is on the capital project list at the next budget workshop.

Here are Ray Clarke’s notes from the township budget meeting:

The Township held a Budget workshop on Monday night to present a base case context for development of the 2012 budget. A good event – short, focused, and with significant implications – it was disappointing that very few residents attended. My takeaways follow; I recommend that anyone interested pick up a copy of the materials, hopefully Monday’s extras are still available.

1. The slumping economy is taking its toll on the Operating Statement. For 2011, instead of the budgeted small surplus, there is now a projected deficit of $422,000. Revenues are unfavorable to budget by $373,000, due essentially to a $191,000 shortfall in licenses and permits (especially a mis-budgeted road opening rate and volume??), an $87,000 shortfall in transfer taxes and a $77,000 shortfall in other revenues like camp fees. Expenses are unfavorable by $96,000, with $205,000 overspending in supplies (road salt), offset by $115,000 favorable in personnel costs.

2. Things are likely to get worse next year, based just on what’s knowable at the present time. Revenues will be down a further $124,000, largely due to reductions in state transfers. That’s before any impact of a reduction in real estate assessments. (And of course, before any changes in tax rate). Expenses will continue upward, driven by an increased pension contribution (due to a minor reduction in assumed return to a level that’s still ridiculously high……), offset by a hoped-for better snow clearing experience and reduced repairs and maintenance. Now, the key here is that all employee contracts are currently being negotiated: the base case assumes no salary increase and the current benefits plan. (A similar approach to that of the School District). I leave it to others to judge the realism of this. The base case does include a 3% increase in contributions to the fire companies. Bottom line: 2012 General Fund Operating Deficit of $667,000.

3. On the capital side, the Township is on track to spend about 60% of the capital budget across all the funds (General, Sewer, Trunk Sewer, Vehicle and Equipment). There are reasons for this; one seems to be that the township always budgets generously to assure that it is correctly positioned for grants. Another might be that we simply don’t have the resources to get done everything that needs to be done. The capital plan information that was presented was acknowledged to be very rudimentary, and it was agreed that another workshop be held (I think a Saturday in early October?) to discuss the projects and priorities in detail.

So, what’s the answer for the Operating Statement? Are there more cuts to be had? Seemingly it would be tough to make the staff any leaner on top of the layoffs of recent years. The crumbling state of the front steps to the township building does not indicate that recent repair and maintenance spending has been effective. Unlike the School District, it’s not clear that there’s much room in benefits. On the revenue side, the property tax rate has been unchanged since 2009 and has increased at an annual rate of less than 1.7% for the last decade.

Paul Olson contrasted recent property tax rate increases in Easttown (my data for 2010, 2011: +12%, +4%) and Radnor (+11%, +9%). Of course, rather than just layer on more property taxes, the net cost to Tredyffrin residents would be lower if the township took a percentage of any EIT that a large number of residents are already paying and that the School District may possibly put to referendum ……

Should T/E School District Offer the PSAT to 9th Graders? Radnor School District to Fund Student’s PSAT Tests

August 11, 2011
17 Comments

I read the following update on the Radnor School District in the Main Line Suburban:

Assistant superintendent Kim Maguire outlined a plan to the Curriculum Committee that would have all Radnor ninth-, tenth- and eleventh-graders take the PSAT in October with school-district funding and with across-the-board scores allowing teachers to “check for trends [as well as] individual student trajectories.” The hope, Maguire said, “is that students will be more motivated.”

Asked if she meant more than for PSSAs, Maguire answered, “Yes.” Superintendent Linda Grobman said the school district would be able to “use the [test-score] information to help plan the instructional program.”

The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT) is a standardized test administered by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Other than practice for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), a high score on the PSAT is the only way to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship. The PSAT is great practice for the SAT as the results provide a sense of strengths and weaknesses.

The PSAT is offered for Conestoga High School students in their Sophomore and Junior years as preparation for the SAT exam. Radnor High School likewise offers the PSAT to their students in the tenth and eleventh grades. According to the article, the Radnor School District is suggesting that the District will offer the PSAT to the ninth graders in addition to the tenth and eleventh-graders.

Last month when there was discussion on Community Matters of Newsweek’s ‘best of high school’ lists, some commentors suggesting that T/E didn’t need to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ — that everyone knows that Conestoga High School is a great high school and the fact that it didn’t appear on Newsweek’s list was of little consequence. The jury may still be out on the importance (or impact) of Newsweek’s high school rankings, but the PSAT is another issue.

The PSAT is viewed as great practice for the taking of the SAT — and we now read that Radnor School District is discussing adding another practice PSAT year. Can we assume that if a student takes the practice exam three times before taking the SAT, that the student’s SAT scores will go up?

If a student takes the PSAT in both the ninth and tenth grades, is the student better prepared for taking the PSAT in the eleventh grade?

Why is the PSAT exam in the eleventh grade important . . . ? Answer — qualifying for the National Merit Scholarship awards is based on the scores on the PSAT taken as a Junior. Instead of only one practice exam, the Radnor School District students will have the opportunity to practice the PSAT twice before their Junior year. I would suggest that the number of Merit Scholars in Radnor School District will probably increase as a result.

The number of National Merit scholars is a widely quoted indicator of a given high school’s quality. To back up the high standard of T/E school district education, should the Curriculum Committee consider adding the option of PSAT testing for ninth graders? Should T/E fund PSAT testing for its students? Or, does T/E ignore what other neighboring districts are doing? Is there a risk that by increasing the number of practice PSAT exams, that teachers would teach to that exam rather than offering students a more traditional curriculum?

Debt-ceiling crisis – America could lose its triple-A credit rating . . . what about Tredyffrin Township and our school district

July 30, 2011
11 Comments

How do we keep our dominoes from starting to fall and our house of cards from crashing?

The debt battle in Washington is raging. The deadline by which Congress must decide to increase the nation’s debt limit or find ways other than borrowing to pay the interest on the huge national debt, is only days away. The consequences of failure are unthinkable to this country. Whom will Uncle Sam pay if there’s no debt deal – the Veterans, Medicaid beneficiaries, Social Security recipients? The clock is ticking down . . . the country is running out of time.

The finger-pointing . . . the political gamesmanship . . . makes you feel like you’re living in the twilight zone. Some suggest that the U.S. only needs to mint one or two trillion-dollar coins as a plausible way out of the debt-ceiling debate. Or that perhaps President Obama should invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling if Congress cannot come up with a satisfactory plan before the Tuesday deadline.

The standoff between lawmakers goes on – the political posturing and name-calling endless. A very real fiscal catastrophe is at America’s doorstep – and Washington’s stalemate is a disservice to all of us. Americans do not want our government to default on its debt obligations. We want compromise from our lawmakers yet they don’t seem to hear (or care) what we think. Why isn’t Washington listening to the people . . . why is a middle-of-the-road compromise seemingly impossible?

What would a debt default mean for the country, for the state, for our township and our school district?

If the United States does lose its Aaa bond rating, we could potentially see a financial crisis unleashed because it will also mean that there will almost certainly be a wave of credit rating downgrades across the country. Moody’s Investors Service is saying that the U.S. risks losing its Aaa credit rating if it defaults on its debts – even for a short period of time. Whether or not America sees its credit rating downgraded right now, the truth is that at some point, the credit rating of the US is going to go down and interest rates will likely go up.

What’s to stop the ripple effect of a federal government credit downgrade? Nothing . . . the nightmare will not end at the national level. The truth is that the credit ratings of state and local governments across the country will likely be reviewed and downgraded as well. The federal government has never lost its Aaa credit rating; this would be totally uncharted territory.

The national economic nightmare places Tredyffrin Township and the T/E School District in a precarious situation – jeopardizing its Aaa credit rating.

How do we keep our dominoes from starting to fall and our house of cards from crashing?

America’s Best High Schools But Where is Conestoga High School?

July 23, 2011
56 Comments

Newsweek has released a list of the top 500 public high schools in America. Here are high schools in our local area that made the list and their ranking:

  • Harriton High School: #123
  • Radnor High School: #146
  • Lower Merion High School: #224
  • Downingtown East High School; #279
  • Downingtown West High School: #339
  • Great Valley High School: #346
  • Haverford High School: #466

But where is Conestoga High School . . . ?

To create the list of the top 500 public high schools in America, Newsweek used the criteria below, with its corresponding percentage of calculated weight:

  • Four-year, on-time graduation rate (25%)
  • Percent of 2010 graduates who enrolled immediately in college (25%)
  • AP tests per graduate (25%)
  • Average SAT score (10%)
  • Average AP test score (10%)
  • Number of AP courses offered per graduate (5%)

With all the discussion about the quality of TESD schools, does it not strike some of you odd that Conestoga High School is not on the list? I have to believe that Conestoga High School would not fall short in any of the categories as based on Newsweek’s criteria (above).

There has been much discussion, including on Community Matters, in regards to the quality of our T/E school district. Repeatedly, people have affirmed that the quality of our school district is helping to sustain our property values. If that is correct, shouldn’t TESD taxpayers expect the same ‘bragging rights’ as the other school districts?

Unable to explain ‘why’ Conestoga High School is not on the list, I researched further. Under Newsweek’s category, “Methodology: How we compiled the list” and I may have discovered the answer. From the Newsweek website, I found the following:

To compile the 2011 list of the top high schools in America, NEWSWEEK reached out to administrators, principals, guidance counselors, and Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate coordinators at more than 10,000 public high schools across the country. In order to be considered for our list, each school had to complete a survey requesting specific data from the 2009-2010 academic year.

Based on Newsweek’s methodology, is the explanation to Conestoga’s MIA status on the list as simple as the administration dropped the ball and did not complete the survey?

Regardless of whether you give credence to school rankings, what does it say that every other public high school in the area is on the list except for Conestoga High School?

If you were moving into the Philadelphia suburbs and had high school age children, would it make a difference to you? If all was equal, do you think that a family with high school age children would opt for one of our neighboring school districts because they were ranked by Newsweek and TESD was not?

Bottom line, as our property taxes continue to increase, I am guessing that most taxpayers in T/E would like to see their high school on the list. If nothing more, it helps take some of the sting out of the tax bill.

I would be curious what explanation our school board members would have to say on the ranking and Conestoga’s MIA status on the list.

—————————————————————-

As a follow-up note, I have emailed school board president Karen Cruickshank and cc the T/E school board. If I receive a response, I will be glad to post it.

Corbett’s Property Tax Reform Throws a Curve Ball to School Districts . . . Limits on Act 1 Exceptions May Cause Angst to School Boards

July 2, 2011
25 Comments

School vouchers, Marcellus Shale fees and transportation funding may have been temporarily sidelined in Corbett’s budget but not so for property tax reform.

When Gov. Corbett inked the budget this week, school districts across the commonwealth collectively received a curve ball. Included in Corbett’s budget was property tax reform, which makes change to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2006 (Act 1) that could effect future school board’s financial decisions.

With school districts struggling with significant reduction in state spending, many used Act 1 exceptions in their budget decisions, which permit tax increases without allowing voters the right to veto. However, with Corbett’s property tax reform, the school districts will not be permitted to increase property tax above the rate of inflation without voter referendum. Corbett suggests that the property tax reform will give the power to the taxpayers to decide whether they want a property tax increase to fund a particular program. A reduction in allowable Act 1 exceptions will force school boards to make their case to the voter for approval of a property tax increase.

Prior to the amendment, Act 1 included 13 permitted exceptions including new construction projects, debt, pension and special education costs – school boards could increase property tax using these exceptions without a voter referendum. The Act 1 exceptions will continue to include special education spending and payments to the state pension system but no other exceptions will be permitted without voter approval.

It is my understanding that if a school district has a building project underway, the previous Act 1 exception for construction will remain in place for the length of the project. However, the amendment to Act 1 does not permit an exception for future constructions projects without voter approval. So where does the Act 1 reform legislation leave TESD’s planned transportation garage/storage building on Old Lancaster Ave.? Although the project is only in the initial architectural development stages, the Facilities Committee may need to rethink their plans or be prepared for voter input. No longer qualifying for an Act 1 exception, this proposed new construction project would require a voter referendum. In addition, because the transportation garage is not educational programming, I would suggest that voters might not show their support for a property tax increase for this type of project.

By removing so many of the Act 1 exceptions, school boards will be limited in their ability to increase property taxes without voter referendum. On the other hand, you could say that property owners in Pennsylvania will have a more active roll in what school boards do with their money. Gaining voter support at the polls will require public convincing by school boards. Do you think that this is the way for taxpayers to receive property tax relief? I also wonder if some school districts will opt for creative responses to the Act 1 changes, such as forming their own charter schools.

On the subject of property taxes but slightly off topic, the T/E school district tax bills arrived in the mail. Having just read somewhere online that the average school taxes paid in Pennsylvania is $1,200 – I am struggling to see how that is possible.

My husband and I own an investment property in Glenhardie Condominiums in Wayne — a small 1-bedroom condo. According to the tax bill, our school taxes for the 1-bedroom condo are $1,232 — equivalent to the average school tax bill in the state. It is interesting that our 1-BR condo represents in T/E the model for the ‘average’ price of real estate across the state. So . . . $1,200 in school taxes buys you a 1-BR condo in the T/E school district – wonder what that same $1,200 in average school property taxes buys you in other parts of the state? A quick search online indicates that Pittsburgh is ranked as one of the ‘best buys’ in America. For the price of a 1-BR Glenhardie condo, one could buy a nice 4-BR house in Pittsburgh!

Is the Answer to Pennsylvania’s Budget . . . Robbing Peter to Pay Paul?

June 23, 2011
1 Comment

All eyes are on Harrisburg as the clock ticks down to the June 30 state budget deadline. Some say that to reach next week’s deadline would require a final budget in place by the end of today. At this point, Gov. Corbett appears intent on meeting the June 30 deadline . . . that by itself will mark a change from the past administration. I don’t recall if Ed Rendell’s budget was late all eight years of his administration but certainly most years.

There are some hurdles for Corbett’s budget before it is finalized. Some sticking points include whether the $300 million in Tobacco Settlement Fund revenue remains in the general fund as Corbett proposed in his preliminary budget. In the past, the tobacco fund revenue was not included in the general fund but helped fund social and welfare programs. There was a claim in March by Pennsylvania’s Auditor General Jack Wagner that over the past few years, over a $1 billion has quietly diverted from the Tobacco Settlement Fund to the general fund to help balance the state’s budget. You know the saying, ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’.

If the $300 million revenue from the Tobacco Settlement Fund were to come out of the general fund, it is possible that some of the spending cuts to basic and higher education and welfare programs could be restored. If you recall, Corbett’s preliminary budget announcement back in March indicated excess tax revenue of $78 million but to date, he has refused to increase spending. The state tax revenue in March and April of this year was higher than expected so it would seem to suggest that Corbett could afford to restore some of the education and welfare spending cuts.

Will Corbett’s final budget package include a Marcellus shale impact fee? My guess . . . highly unlikely. But the real question is why is the state not charging an extraction tax or impact fee to the drilling companies? It defies logic; I absolutely do not understand why the opposition to charging the companies– especially given the current and potential future damage to the environment and roads caused by the gas drilling.

I certainly do not claim to be any political guru; but when you look around this country and see that every other state is charging some form of a drilling tax, impact fee, or whatever you want to call it; it does beg the question, why doesn’t Pennsylvania? Is the answer so that Corbett can stand on his campaign promise of no new tax increase? Is the administration’s reluctance to impose a Marcellus shale fee have anything to do with campaign financing support? I wonder how much revenue the state has already lost and will continue to lose by not imposing a Marcellus shale impact fee.

As school districts across the state are challenged to balance their own budgets and taxpayers face property tax increases – again I have to ask, why not tax the Marcellus shale drilling companies.

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