Here are the Centre County school districts that will raise real estate taxes for 2024-2025
Few districts around Centre County are raising real estate taxes this year despite many reporting higher expenses than revenues for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.
State College, Bellefonte and Philipsburg-Osceola area school districts will be raising taxes this year to keep up with rising expenses. And some school districts have budgets that appear unbalanced, though educators say it’s not a full picture, as they pull from fund accounts to pay for renovations, cover debt services and make up differences.
For example, State College Area School District will cover half of its deficit with its debt service fund balance. Joseph Clapper, interim superintendent of Bald Eagle Area School District, said the district’s unbalanced budget comes from several projects, including a new roof for Mountaintop Elementary, an agricultural program at the high school and renovating the fitness center.
“It looks like a deficit budget,” Clapper said. “In other words, more expenditures than revenue, but that’s a little bit deceiving because we’re transferring money from capital reserves into the regular budget to help pay for projects that we need to do.”
Districts often slightly lowball their state funding figures as well, as district budgets must be submitted by June 30, before the state typically passes its budget. Brian Griffith, superintendent for Penns Valley Area School District, said that he expects the district to receive more than budgeted from the state, but schools must be prepared to operate without if budget discussions get delayed.
“We all pass budgets and we don’t know what a major source of revenue for us is going to be,” Griffith said. “That’s the biggest source outside of local tax dollars that we rely on.”
Educators are also hoping for the first in a set of many repayments in the long fight for fair education funding in Pennsylvania to start with the approval of the state budget. Last year, the Commonwealth Court ruled the state’s funding system to be unconstitutional, a landmark victory in education funding reform.
Griffith said, like many rural schools across the state, the Penns Valley Area School District is underfunded by $3.3 million each year under the current funding system.
“The inequity is built into the system whenever you’re looking at real estate being the funding mechanism to fund schools when you have a urbanized center where you have population density, and you have businesses that generate a lot more revenue from real estate taxes that a rural district can,” Griffith said.
But the Pennsylvania legislature is just starting the first steps to amend the system, introducing a bill that would pay $5.1 billion over the next seven budgets to 371 school districts.
“We also understand you can’t fix it all at once,” Clapper said. “This is supposed to be year one of paying down what is owed to school districts across the commonwealth. What happens when the state underfunds public schools, it falls on local taxpayers.”
Even with some districts raising real estate taxes, some residential homeowners won’t feel the full impact. Through the Pennsylvania 2006 Taxpayer Relief Act, districts receive money from gaming and gambling revenues to help reduce taxes for homeowners who are approved for a homestead or farmstead exclusion.
In Penns Valley, nearly all residential homeowners in the district will see some tax reduction as 97% of the district was approved for the homestead or farmstead exclusion.
Here’s a look at each Centre County school district’s budget and annual tax increase for the average district homeowner for the 2024-2025 school year.
Bald Eagle Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $36,733,873
Total estimated expenses: $41,733,871
Real Estate Tax increase: 0%
Annual tax increase for average homeowner: $0
What’s next: The board will vote for final approval of the budget on June 12.
More information: This is the second year in a row with no tax increase for Bald Eagle Area School District. Bald Eagle Area’s proposed budget can be found of the district’s website.
Bellefonte Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $59,205,000
Total estimated expenses: $62,200,000
Real Estate Tax increase: 3.5%
Annual tax increase for average homeowner: $55.27
What’s next: The board will vote on the final budget at its June 11 meeting.
More information: Bellefonte Area School District budget information can be found on the district’s website.
Penns Valley Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $33,254,579
Total estimated expenses: $33,254,579
Real Estate Tax increase: 0.0%
Annual tax increase for average homeowner: $0
What’s next: The board approved the proposed budget on May 15 and will approve the final budget and levy taxes on June 26.
More information: Penns Valley Area’s proposed budget can be found on the district’s website.
Philipsburg Osceola School District
Total estimated revenues in proposed budget: $37,127,356
Total estimated expenses in proposed budget: $37,555,342
Real Estate Tax increase: Millage rates have not been finalized
Annual tax increase for average homeowner: Undetermined
What’s next: The Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District will set a final millage rate and determine its tax increase at its June 26 meeting.
More information: Philipsburg-Osceola’s proposed budget can be found online.
State College Area School District
Total estimated revenues: $197,934,645
Total estimated expenses: $202,570,869
Real Estate Tax increase: 2.65%
Annual tax increase for average homeowner: $97.33
What’s next: State College Area School Board approved its final budget and levied taxes at its Monday night meeting.
More information: View the State College Area School District Budget Development page on the district’s website.
This story was originally published June 6, 2024 at 12:45 PM.