Freeport Area School Board passes tax increase after close vote

In a 5-4 vote, the Freeport Area School Board narrowly passed its 2022-23 budget calling for a real estate tax increase of 6.7% for Butler County residents and a 1.68% increase for Armstrong County residents.

Three of the four board members who voted against the budget said they didn’t want to raise taxes during a time when residents are hit with economic problems because of high inflation.

Voting against the budget during a recent school board meeting were Christine Davies, John Haven, Frank Prazenica Jr. and Gary Risch Jr.

“This is absolutely the very worst time to be raising anyone’s taxes,” Haven said.

He said he was disappointed that some of the board members who voted for the tax increase ran election platforms to not raise taxes.

Haven and Davies said they were disheartened with the low public turnout at their meetings when the board debated the budget.

“Residents have more influence on how the board votes than I do,” Haven said.

Prazenica questioned whether it was absolutely necessary to raise taxes for the district to move forward.

“With everything going on with inflation and hardships impacting people, it’s a time to be sensitive to people in our district,” he said.

A former school district superintendent, Prazenica said it was “doable” to not pass a tax increase.

He suggested the district would have to tap its fund balance and pare down some expenses to make it work. While dipping into the district’s reserves generally is not a good thing, Prazenica admitted, under the circumstances this year, it was an option.

Davies said the financial needs of the school district are legitimate. But her constituents urged her not to raise taxes, she said.

“I felt my constituents are in a tough situation, and any kind of a school tax increase would impede their lifestyle,” she said.

Risch could not be reached for comment.

2 tax hikes by county

There are different tax hikes for residents in the two counties covered by the school district because of calculations by the State Tax Equalization Board, which determines the aggregate market value of taxable real estate from one county to another.

The state tax equalization process bumps Butler County’s millage up, according to Brad Walker, the district’s business manager.

“That could float in the other direction next year when the state tax equalization figures come out,” he added.

Under the new 2022-23 school budget, a Butler County homeowner’s tax rate will increase by 10.35 mills from the current rate of 154.4 mills to 164.75 mills.

An Armstrong County homeowner’s tax rate will increase by 1.11 mills from the current rate of 65.90 mills to 67.01 mills.

Budget details

Freeport Area’s new budget has a nearly $976,000 increase in expenditures from the the last budget.

For the current school year, the budget was nearly $35.2 million while the 2022-23 budget at nearly $36.2 million is 2.77% higher.

The budget includes a portion of a $66 million renovation project for the high school that will be spread out over years.

Inflation is “killing the budget,” Walker said.

Fixed costs make up about 88% of the budget, leaving the district with wiggle room for about 12% of the budget, he said.

Fixed costs include debt service, transportation, cyber-charter school payments and labor contracts. Walker said the contracts for all employee groups make up the biggest chunk at 68%.

The district is cutting costs, Walker said.

For example, the district saved about $900,000 in the new budget by not replacing six staff positions vacated by retirements.