New Kensington-Arnold School Board approves 1.6% property tax increase

Property owners in New Kensington and Arnold will see a 1.6% increase in their school district property tax bills.

The New Kensington-Arnold School Board approved the district’s $50.42 million budget for the 2023-24 school year Tuesday, along with the tax increase.

The property tax rate was increased by 1.5 mills, from 96.14 mills to 97.64 mills.

The nine-member board approved the spending plan and tax rate unanimously and without discussion.

Board President Tim Beckes said there are several reasons for the increase, including ongoing and new capital projects, inflation concerns, and state funding.

“Inflation continues to be a challenge,” he said. “The minimal increase allows us to cover the ever increasing costs of running the district.”

For ongoing projects, Beckes said, “We are learning that initial estimates for the work being done are regularly experiencing change orders and the amount initially budgeted is changing significantly.”

Beckes said the district needs to have the funds to pay for unplanned expenses.

“We do not want to continually go back to the bond market and incur more debt,” he said.

State-mandated programs are continuing to cost New Kensington-Arnold more than the funding provided by the state, Beckes said. The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit recently found that the county’s 17 school districts incurred more than $115 million in costs to pay for state-mandated programs, but state funding covered only 54% of it.

“These mandates have to be met and the shortfall in funding is unfortunately burdened by the local taxpayer,” Beckes said.

While spending $50.42 million, the district forecasts revenue for its fiscal year starting July 1 to be $50.97 million. The surplus, about $546,000, would go to the district’s fund balance.

Capital projects

As of May 31, the district reported having about $6.11 million in its general fund. From that, the board voted to transfer $2 million to a capital projects fund.

The money will be used for long-term projects, including replacement of the twin pedestrian bridges at Valley High School; auditorium and stage renovations; a guaranteed energy savings project; parking lot, playground and pool renovations; and boilers.

The district is seeking two sets of bids for the pedestrian bridges — one for the demolition of the existing bridges and construction of abutments, an accessible ramp and sidewalks, and another for new premanufactured bridges and their installation. Both are due by June 16, Business Manager Jeff McVey said.

The board previously approved spending about $758,000 on repairs and renovations of the pool at Valley High School. A change order the board approved Tuesday with HD Liners for repair of the pool’s gutter and decking system adds $18,555 to that cost.

The board in December approved paying HD Liners $88,000 to replace the pool’s lining and intake jets. In March, the board approved spending $560,000 to replace its HVAC system and $110,000 to replace the boiler as part of the energy savings project.

The board approved seeking bids for work on the playground at H.D. Berkey Elementary School, consisting of renovation of the playground surface and replacing the fencing.

A timeline for the project, including when bids will be due, was not immediately available.

Among its other cash balances, the district reports having about $520,000 in capital reserve, $4.11 million in 2022 capital projects and $523,500 in 2020 capital projects.

Support contract approved

The board also approved an agreement with the union representing secretaries, paraprofessionals and personal care aides, licensed clinical nurses, copy center personnel, and cafeteria monitors.

The five-year contract between the district and the New Kensington-Arnold Education Support Professionals will start July 1 and run through June 30, 2028. The union previously approved the agreement.

Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said the contract includes 4% pay increases each year.

Over the term of the contract, hourly rates for secretaries will increase from $19.35 to $22.55; for licensed clinical nurses, $21.26 to $24.46; and for paraprofessionals and personal care aides, copy center personnel and cafeteria monitors, $17.35 to $20.55.

According to the contract, the monthly co-premium for health insurance in each year is 12% of the total monthly premium, with a monthly cap of $10.