Norwin OKs budget, keeps full-day kindergarten sessions

Norwin property owners will pay slightly more in real estate taxes in the upcoming fiscal year after the school board narrowly adopted a final budget Monday.

By a 5-4 vote, the board approved a 1-mill tax hike for property owners in North Huntingdon, North Irwin and Irwin. The move increases the real estate millage to 85.8 mills, equal to an increase of about 1.2% from the current tax bill, for the 2022-23 school year. A homeowner with a property at the median assessed value of $22,420, which equates to a market value of approximately $182,275, will pay an additional $22.42 per year, or $1.87 per month, the district said. The increase will generate an additional $421,715 in revenue.

Of the taxes collected in the Westmoreland portion of the district, revenue from 1.2 mills is allocated to the Norwin Public Library, as approved by a voter referendum.

Directors Joanna Jordan, Patrick Lynn, Raymond Kocak, William Essay and Darelene Ciocca voted to support the increase. Christine Baverso, Alex Detschelt, Shawna Illagan and Robert Wayman were opposed.

Norwin expects to spend about $82.65 million in the next fiscal year, but revenue from state and local sources — including the tax hike — was estimated at about $79.4 million.

The district will use about $2.8 million of its fund balance for the 2022-2023 school year, said Ryan Kirsch, business affairs director. The remaining fund balance would amount to about $9.0 million, which includes $3.5 million assigned for long-term capital improvements, Kirsch said.

The board passed the tax hike after agreeing to:

• Restore two full-day kindergarten sessions in each of the four elementary schools

• Hire two additional counselors for the elementary school, ensuring one counselor per building

• Hire an instructional technology support person

The budget evolved out of a May 23 meeting at which some proposed replacing one full-day kindergarten session at each of the buildings with two half-day sessions, and leaving just two elementary counselors for the four buildings, making each counselor responsible for about 900 students.

Jordan proposed a 1-mill tax increase to cover the costs of restoring the kindergarten classes and other expenditures. Before suggesting the tax hike, Jordan said she could not support the initial budget because it was “short-sighted, irresponsible and unsafe.” She said she “won’t support any budget that cheats students out of necessities.”

Kocak said that although he campaigned in 2021 on a platform opposing tax hikes, he voted for the increase because of the additional costs that were added to the spending plan and the need to cover those expenses.

Wayman questioned the need for a tax hike with a fund balance of around $11 million.

Illagan said more than 5,000 people in the community do not want a tax hike, referring to her vote total in the November 2021 election.

Detschelt, Illagan, Kocak and Wayman also opposed the hiring of the two elementary guidance counselors.

Detschelt questioned the wisdom of hiring full-time counselors and suggested it was possibly a reaction to the deadly school shooting last month in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people — 19 students and two teachers — were killed.

“Are these counselors going to jump in front of bullets?” Detschelt asked.

While Texas is geographically distant from Pennsylvania, Megan Yunn of Irwin said, as a mother, “Texas is close.”

One of the elementary guidance counselors, Tamala Edmonds, asked the board to add the two counselors so she does not have to split her time between two schools.

“If I have one building, I can make a difference,” Edmonds said.

Detschelt and Illagan repeated their complaints that the administration had not provided the board with a line-item list of expenditures, saying budget information they received was insufficient. They said neighboring districts provide line-item budgets that have financial details, such as the cost of tires.

Detschelt said he does not believe a tax hike is necessary because the state may be giving Norwin more money than anticipated.

“I know we can save money if the administration works with us,” Illagan said.

The 18 property owners in a section of White Oak and South Versailles served by Norwin will see a slight increase from the 12.72-mill levy they paid for 2021-2022 school year. The millage rates are different in the two counties because of the difference in property assessments.