North Allegheny School Board Votes Wednesday on Budget and Millage Rate

Cut taxes, keep them the same, or raise them? There seems to be a variety of opinions among North Allegheny School Board members on how to vote on next year's budget.

The current proposal, and the one which had the most support among school directors at last Wednesday's work session, would set the millage rate at 17.4.

The rate is lower than the current 20.92, but considered "revenue neutral" because many North Allegheny properties increased in value after the 2012 reassessments.

At last week's meeting, board members Libby Blackburn and Linda Bishop called for a lower millage rate.

In order to bring new people into the district, Blackburn said, “I do think we should keep our taxes as low as humanly possible.”

In a meeting immediately following the spring primary, Bishop made her pitch for lower taxes.

"I think the community has spoken that they don't want a millage increase, that they would like to see their taxes go down," board member Linda Bishop told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bishop did not seek re-election this year.

Bishop said she would like to see the district maintain its ranking as having the fifth-lowest millage rate in Allegheny County.

Other board members disagreed.

“The other side of that equation is that if we don’t fund education, what will happen to the property values here?” said vice president Daniel E. Hubert.

Director Joseph Greenburg agreed with Hubert that a lower millage rate could be harmful to students in the long run.

“I think it takes a risk with the quality of our district and our programming,” Greenburg said.

In fact, Greenberg said if anything raising the millage rate would be better for the district. He said he believed the school district is on a  “dangerous path” to what he forecasts is a potential budget shortfall for the 2014-15 school year.

Tara Fisher, one of two newcomers to win both parties' primaries for a seat on the North Allegheny School Board, said voters are concerned about other issues, in addition to taxes.

"The election was about moving the district forward with new ideas and initiatives." she said. "Many of these initiatives are focused on creating new revenue streams.  New revenue streams can help the district avoid annual tax increases while preserving it's successful education model, which includes operating classes within the district's class size guidelines by keeping all seven elementary schools open."

If you were on the North Allegheny School Board, how would you vote? Would you raise, lower, or keep taxes the same for next year? Tell us in the comments section below.

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