POTTSTOWN — The Pottstown School Board made it official Thursday night, adopting a $92.7 million final budget that will increase taxes by 5.8 percent.
The budget passed by a 6-1 vote, with Phoebe Kancianic casting the only nay vote. Two board members, Sue Lawrence and Steve Kline were absent.
Given that the median property assessment in Pottstown is $78,995, a 5.8 percent tax hike, the maximum allowed by the state, would increase the median property tax bill by $192, from $3,314 to $3,506, according to Business Manager Maureen Oakley.
The budget anticipates the expenditure of $92,646,668 and $88,765,427 in revenues. In order to choose the budget deficit between those two numbers, the board chose the option that keeps the district’s four librarians in their current jobs, as well as one elementary counselor. That option will require the district to draw $3,881,241 out of the surplus, called “fund balance,” in order to balance the budget.
The tax hike comes after five years of taxes being held steady.
Board member Kurt Heidel, who voted against the preliminary budget, said he still doesn’t quite see how a $9 million deficit “snuck up on us.” That was the deficit figure unveiled when the budget talks first began in February.
“I think maybe we all got a little ‘COVID drunk’ 18 months ago,” he said in reference to the extra federal funding that was provided to municipalities and school districts to help them deal with the unexpected cost increases brought on by operating during the pandemic.
“I’d like to see more than five votes for this budget,” he said referring to the legal minimum required for the budget to pass.
“I can’t even believe at one point we were talking about spending $3 million for turf fields. Now I feel bad that we even spent $300,000 on a feasibility study,” he said.
But Board President Katina Bearden defended the board’s actions.
“We did our best during a difficult time,” she said, adding that her concerns about re-building the tennis courts at Pottstown High School are valid given the fact that6 drainage problems mean the courts are often unusable for half the season.
The fact that those capital expenses are now beyond the reach of the budget, does not mean they should not have been investigated, she said.
She added “I’m not happy tonight passing a budget without the state budget being passed,” she said. The board had little choice but to budget for less state aid than Gov. Josh Shapiro had promised, since Harrisburg has yet to agree on a budget. When it is passed, Pottstown may end up with more state aid than it had counted on.
“Things can change,” she said.
If Pottstown gets more, it may have something to do with the continued efforts of advocates, including Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez, who was at a rally at Daniel Boone High School one day after Pottstown’s final budget was passed.
“I am here today to urge our legislators to continue to provide critical resources for our Pennsylvania public schools by passing the governor’s budget,” Rodriguez said at the rally, organized by PA School Works, a coalition of organizations from across Pennsylvania representing educators, parents, students and other community members.
The increase in funding, driven by a court decision that found Pennsylvania’s school funding system violates its own constitution, has made a difference, Rodriguez said.
“Only a few weeks ago I presented to our school board and staff the results of our efforts over the past year. Students at every level — elementary, middle and high school — have seen enormous growth.”
Rodriguez said student performance is up, mental health challenges are down, the graduation rate is soaring and more students are participating in sports, the arts and career and technical education. But the district still needs additional state funding to keep that progress going and level the playing field for its students.
MediaNews Group Reporter David Mekeel contributed to this article.
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