EF school board to vote on budget opt-out resolution

The township’s junior commissioner is seeking improvements to the middle school practice field.

Elizabeth Forward school board will consider an accelerated budget opt-out resolution next week that certifies the district’s inflation index for the 2026-27 school year.

The resolution is a formal vote by a school district to avoid the complicated and accelerated budget timeline mandated by Act 1, opting instead to follow the state’s older budget adoption rules.

This certifies the tax rate, and the district will not increase its tax rates by more than the Act 1 index for the upcoming fiscal year.

Director of finance and operations Al Ragan said that based on tax bills that were sent out July 1, the Act 1 index is 4.9% for the next school year. The state increase is 3.5%, and the district gets 4.9% based on its market value ratio.

If the district were to increase taxes by 4.9%, Ragan said it would get about $1,134,000 in additional funds, which equates to about $138.93 for a house assessed at $100,000 or about 38 cents per day. The median home value in the area is $223,000.

“That number used to not be $100,000,” Ragan said. “I actually increased it when I started because I thought it was kind of ridiculous to have it lower. I picked that number because it’s an easy modifier.”

The value of one mill is about $745,800 at a collection rate of 92.75%, according to Ragan, which is an average of the last five years.

The district plans on not raising taxes any higher than the index because of this resolution, but there is still a possibility of the rate being raised once budget season comes around. The board’s voting meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

If they were to rise to the index, their millage would be 29.7437, which is a 1.3893 millage increase from last year.

Right now, the district’s assessed value of its properties is $880 million. Last year, at this time, it was around $885 million, and Ragan said the decrease was because of common level ratios and three or four of their top 10 properties.

Ragan said this is the fourth-highest year they can raise taxes. Last year, the district raised taxes and the year before, it didn’t.

“We are, out of all 43 districts in Allegheny County, we are number eight as far as getting the highest aid ratio,” Ragan said. “That means we need a lot of help compared to a lot of the other school districts, financially.

“I don’t know specifically, but looking at a lot of the other districts, I think it’s a financial picture of the district and the general community. Population, but the financial ability of the population, and this coming from the state.”

According to Ragan, Elizabeth Forward is around the same area as West Mifflin Area School District. Areas that are higher include McKeesport and Duquesne.

Director Megan Ferraro said they need more businesses in the area to avoid being a community that is struggling, and Ragan agreed.

Director Jamie Evans asked what the school can do to bring more so they won’t be in this position. Suggestions included LERTA Tax Abatements, which provide tax breaks for commercial and industrial properties for those who come to the area.

“We are trying to provide something for the district, and the status we are in, we have an opportunity to facilitate this type of action with the properties that we own,” Evans said. “It’s something that we need to start considering very thoroughly. Overall, I just think this is something we need to consider a lot more aggressively to help put ourselves in a good spot here in the future.”

Elizabeth Township Commissioner Chris Thoma, who was in the audience, said he wants the community to be educated of what is coming in and rooftops bring businesses.

“We are not a wealthy community,” Ragan said. “That will all be figured out when we start doing the budget. The state just released the budget. We’ll see what we gain or lose out of that. We don’t know at this point.”

Junior commissioner project for the school

Elizabeth Township Junior Commissioner and EF student/ athlete Brendan Stroschein presented a proposal to the school board discussing remediation to the practice field at the district’s middle school/Central Elementary properties.

Stroschein presented preliminary ideas to the school board, stating that the field has poor drainage, uneven grading and has become a health risk for athletes.

He made suggestions of regrading/ leveling the field, improving drainage and soil composition along with possibly using extra soil from the high school construction.

“It provides them with a safe and reliable athletic field,” Stroschein said. “For the community, it creates more opportunities for youth leagues and recreation.

“This is not just for the school, it’s for the community to provide a safe space for kids having aspiring dreams of going on to play college sports or just to have fun. It was a risk, and we wanted to help mitigate that risk.”

Work would start in the spring of this year if the board approves the proposal, but there are no final numbers yet.

Christopher Kujawa of PDDM Solutions, LLC was also at the meeting, and said there are unsafe playing conditions as well. He said using existing soil would save money, and that there are two options: work with the field they already have or to have more elaborate plans by working on the drainage.

“I hope this project gains traction,” Kujawa said. “Ultimately if you guys decide to move forward with this, we would be happy to help with saving costs and coming up with a plan to help contribute. If it does gain any traction, and I hope it does, let us know and we will be happy to work with everybody to help minimize any costs.”

Thoma said this project would be in partnership with Elizabeth Township, that many organizations use it and that it is one of the most used parts of district property. He added this was Stroschein’s top idea when thinking of projects to complete.

“This proposal has no cost to the school board or the district,” Thoma said. “Brandon worked really hard with Chris to find out the two best solutions moving forward. There’s a savings there if we use existing dirt, and we are moving what seems like mountains behind the high school. If there’s extra, you could maneuver that down here, grade it out and have many years of safe playing time on that field.”

In other business:

• The district got a $1 million grant from the Community and Economic Assistance Program through the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development. Once approved, the grant covers HVAC and plumbing costs at the high school, and it has to be used from December 2025 to December 2026.

• Several upgrades and change orders are up for approval next week for school improvements, including HVAC upgrades at Central Elementary and the middle school, vestibule doors at the high school and more.