Seneca Valley proposed budget include tax hike
JACKSON TWP — At a meeting Monday night, May 8, the Seneca Valley School Board advanced the district’s proposed budget for the 2023-24 school year. Part of the budget includes a real estate tax increase of 1.95% for those living in the district.
After 35 minutes of discussion, the nine-member board approved the proposed budget with a 7-2 vote, with Jim Nickel and Mike Jacobs voting no.
As part of the spending plan, revenue is projected to increase by 4.45%, from $151.44 million to $158.44 million. Meanwhile, total operating expenditures are expected to increase by 3.38%, from $154.86 million to $160.09 million.
This means the district is expected to run at a deficit of just under $2 million for the 2023-24 school year. While steep, it will be a noticeable improvement from the deficit of $3.42 million that Seneca Valley is running this year.
The bulk of the increase in expenditures can be attributed to wage and salary increases, as well as a 3% rate increase in health care for employees, which will add up to $590,000. Rising inflation also inevitably will result in increased costs for utilities across all of the district’s buildings.
To cover part of the rising expenditures, there will be an increase of 1.95% in the real estate millage rate, from 130.45 mills to 133 mills. The value of each mill collected will jump to $688,704, an increase of 2.3% over this year. The tax hike also will cover the gradual loss of federal funds from COVID-19-related grants such as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.
For homeowners with an assessed value of $25,890, which equates approximately to a market value of $364,500, the median home value in the district, the tax increase will amount to $66 annually.
The district’s last tax increase occurred before the 2021-22 school year, an increase of 2%.
The proposed budget is available for the public to view. The final budget is expected to be approved at the board’s June 12 meeting. All school districts in Pennsylvania must adopt a final budget for the upcoming school year by June 30.
This story was updated May 10, 2023 to reflect that the vote to approve the budget was 7-2. A previous version of this story said the vote was 8-0, with Harmony representative Eric DiTullio abstaining.
