New McKeesport budget includes tax increase

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

During this month’s board meeting, McKeesport Area School District Superintendent Dr. Mark Holtzman predicted many area districts will be forced to consider raising property taxes for the 2020-21 school year.

McKeesport joined that list Wednesday as the board voted 5-3  to pass a $71.8 million budget. It comes with a tax increase of .80 mills, bringing the millage rate to 20.96 mills. 

One mill generates approximately $761,145 for MASD.

Diane Elias, Tom Filotei, Ivan Hampton and Steve Kondrosky and Board President Joe Lopretto voted in favor of the balanced spending plan. Jim Brown and Dave Donato and Vice President Mindy Sturgess voted no, and James Poston was absent.

Holtzman said the tax increase means properties in McKeesport, White Oak, Dravosburg, Versailles and South Versailles Township assessed at $100,000 will see a tax increase of around $80. Properties assessed at $50,000 will see a yearly tax bill increase of about $40.

“At one point in time we used to be proud to say that we were one of the bottom one, two, three, four, five of all the districts around,” Kondrosky said. “Where do we stand right now according to where our mileage is?”

“We’re like the low middle of the pack,” Holtzman replied. “I’d have to look at the exact spot we’re in. I looked at it last year and we we’re a few up from the bottom, say five up, seven up from the bottom. We won’t be able to tell until everyone else passes a budget of their increases.

“I would argue that the majority, if not all school districts, will raise or attempt to raise taxes and a lot of them will raise it above the (state) index because everybody got flat funded in their basic education and special ed. funding, so people are all going to be struggling and strapped to make ends meet at this point.”

Holtzman said special education costs contribute to the need for a district tax increase.

“If you think logically about it, if you look at just the overall special education funding that’s been flat funded for probably the last 20 years, the cost to educate children with IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) has been substantially more over the years and we’ve received no funding to offset those costs,” he said.

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