The September 2015 statement by the then-superintendent of the Wilkinsburg School District should have been quite ominous: “…taxes will not decrease if Wilkinsburg High School closes.”
As we have written about, Wilkinsburg shuttered its middle and high school and sent students to the Westinghouse Academy in the Pittsburgh Public School District. To facilitate the transition, the state awarded Wilkinsburg an additional $3 million in basic education funding to be used “…as described in the written agreement between the two districts”. That’s what was written into the budget language for 2015-16; so it is bewildering why the Wilkinsburg School District spokesperson stated in a news article that the “… “presumption” [is] it would be used toward the district’s partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools, but [the spokesperson] said the [Pa Dept of Education] wouldn’t take a public stance on the matter.” Why would they refuse to do so if the plain language of the budget bill and the written agreement between Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh talks about the $3 million and its role in the transition?
The District’s finance director stated that the closure of the building saved $1.1 million; even though the tuition rate under the agreement is going to rise this year to $9,600, it is still well under the amount that Wilkinsburg spends per-pupil; and yet one board member stated that Dept of Ed officials and state legislators “…discouraged a tax cut, and [the board member] suggested the board wait one more year when the district’s financial picture improves even further — and members could reduce the property tax rate by five mills”.
To see how that translates for a homeowner with an assessed value of $50,000, at 32.63 mills the school tax bill is $1,631. Under a 3 mill reduction, it would be $1,481, and a 5 mill cut would result in a tax bill of $1,381. Throw in what a homeowner in Wilkinsburg School District gets from slot machine gamin relief ($319 in 2016-17) and the resulting tax bill would be $1,312, $1,162, and $1,062 respectively at each millage. A 5 mill cut would result in a nearly 20% savings on a tax bill. For a non-homestead property (which would not get homestead relief) the savings would amount to 15% on the tax bill.
Here’s hoping for good news in 2018-19; the District’s millage will remain at 32.63 this year, unchanged from where it was set in 2013-14 after the County reassessment. The other district in the County that eliminated its high school program–Duquesne–has left its millage rate unchanged (with the exception of the reassessment adjustment); perhaps Wilkinsburg will be different. Both are in Act 141 status. But Wilkinsburg has closed its high school, furloughed staff, and is paying to send its students to another district at a significant discount: will taxpayers see relief?
