Panther Valley adopts budget with tax hike

Panther Valley School District taxpayers will see a tax increase in the coming school year.

The school district’s board of directors voted 5-1 Thursday night to adopt a 2019-20 final budget which includes $28,109,879 in expenses.

Irene Genther was the only board member to vote against the tax increase. Justin Foster, Keith Krapf and Renee DeMelfi did not attend the meeting.

Under the adopted budget, the tax rate for those living in the Carbon County part of the district, including Lansford, Nesquehoning and Summit Hill, will be 64.69 mills. That is a 5.7% increase over this year.

Residents living in Coaldale, Schuylkill County, will have a tax rate of 56.8 mills, a 6.3% increase over 2018-19. A homeowner whose home is assessed at the average value for Coaldale, which is $18,850, will pay $65.97 more than they did in 2018-19.

A homeowner assessed at the average value for those towns, which is $18,850, will pay $57 more than they did this year, a 6.3% increase.

Three out of every 4 homes in the district are assessed at a value under $25,000.

Superintendent Dennis Kergick said that if district taxpayers want to blame someone for the tax increase, they should blame state lawmakers who have failed to provide adequate funding for education in the state.

Kergick said all students in the state are entitled to a quality education, and currently the quality of that education is being dictated by the Zip code which they live in.

“Quite honestly if you have a problem paying higher taxes, I think the parties you should concern yourself with reside in the big building down in Harrisburg, the capitol,” Kergick said.

The district’s state funding isn’t finalized because they haven’t passed a final budget. But projections show that the district will receive $200,000 more than they did last year.

District business manager Ken Marx said that is less than Gov. Tom Wolf proposed in funding, and the state is also cutting reimbursements to districts for their social security contributions.

The district’s expenses have increased by about $1.1 million over the fiscal year ending June 30.

The school board is budgeting for a $200,000 increase in the cost of tuition for students who live in the district but attend charter schools. The cost of transportation and stop loss insurance are also going up.

The board agreed to not fill a teaching position at Panther Valley Elementary, but added a full-time high school special education position.

Marx said that the district’s tax rate is still rising at a slower rate than it was a decade ago.

Over the past eight years, the tax rate for district taxpayers in Carbon County has increased by a total of 10 percent. Over the previous eight years, that figure increased by 31 percent, according to figures provided by the district business office.