Allegheny County increased property taxes for 2025. The City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) increased property taxes for 2026. The taxing bodies are considering a measure that could divert close to $17 million a year of not-yet-realized incremental property taxes to pay off bonds aimed at revitalizing downtown Pittsburgh.
This Policy Brief examines two aspects of public-school education in several Allegheny County districts. The first section looks at enrollment as measured by number of students per 100 persons in the district. The second section focuses on the state Keystone test scores for 11th graders in each district and the expenditures per enrolled student in each district.
“When is enough enough?”
That’s the question a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy says elected officials need to be asking about the latest plan — in a long-running series of plans — to divert property taxes to subsidize development, this time primarily in downtown Pittsburgh.
The administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and its legion of acolytes, insist that raising the Keystone State’s minimum wage to $15 an hour is a matter of keeping the commonwealth competitive with other states and will bolster population and employment.
