Bethel Park School Board is scheduled to vote June 25 on a final general fund operating budget that calls for a 1.5222-mill real estate tax increase.
The $110.4 million spending plan includes a recent adjustment to add $2 million award to the district for the purchase of 10 electric buses as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2023 Clean School Bus Program.
With an increase of 6.2%, the maximum for Bethel Park as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the real estate tax rate for 2024-25 rises to 26.0748 mills.
For a property valued at the municipal median of $155,000, the amount owed would be $4,041.59. Properties that qualify for a homestead exclusion receive a $258 reduction.
According to the school district, the “past two years have resulted in a loss of over $2.5 million in reduced tax revenue due to decreasing assessed values and appeals from common-level ratio reduction.”
The latter measures how a county’s base year assessments compare with current real estate market valuations, and property owners can file for corresponding reductions. For 2023-24, the ratio in Allegheny County is 54%, as set by the State Tax Equalization Board.
Bethel Park School District’s largest expenditure for 2024-25 is the cost of personnel, at $77.9 million, or 74% of budget. The district notes that staff wages are up by 5.2%; medical insurance costs, 10.6%; and benefit costs, 5.8%.
