Property owners within the Leechburg Area School District will be receiving a long-awaited update about taxation differences between West Leechburg, Leechburg and Gilpin.
District officials have announced a Town Hall Tour for Wednesday, May 14.
Starting at 6 p.m. at the West Leechburg Fire Hall, district officials will hold a presentation to update residents about ongoing taxation issues stemming from a formula produced by the State Tax Equalization Board.
According to a district release, meetings also will be held in the multi-purpose room at David Leech Elementary at 7 p.m. and the Gilpin Fire Hall at 8 p.m. on the same night.
“We’re trying to get to the residents in each community,” Superintendent David Keibler told TribLive.
Keibler said when the board hosted its town hall last year, board members received requests from members of all three communities asking to make the meetings more accessible. He said the same presentation would be given at each location Wednesday.
The presentation will outline the latest update with the taxation situation including the intended use for the just-under $60,000 Ready to Learn Tax Equity relief funds awarded to the district by the state.
“Please join us for a brief overview of how these funds will be used and the calculations from the STEB formula that dictate taxes in our district for the 2025 to 2026 LASD budget,” the statement read.
The announcement received mixed reactions from residents on social media. Some are excited to hear what progress has been made while others are skeptical of separate meetings being hosted.
“We all deserve to hear what everyone has to say without driving all over the district,” Leechburg resident and council member Chuck Pascal said.
Multiple residents pointed out that parents would have to choose between the meetings or an elementary and intermediate school music concert taking place at 7 p.m. that night.
Members of Leechburg Council released a joint statement addressing the Town Hall Tour:
“The Leechburg Area School Board having three sequential ‘town halls’ in its three separate municipalities on the same night with very little notice to the community is unfortunate,” the statement read. “The Leechburg Borough Council strongly believes that we are one school district, we are one community, and the people of our district should not be divided and separated.
“Everyone should hear the same thing at the same time and the same comments from community members.”
Pascal called the event a political move, saying the meetings are scheduled six days before the primary election and seven days before the regularly scheduled school board meeting May 21.
“The board majority continues to try to convince the people of West Leechburg in particular that they are doing something to alleviate the effect of STEB rebalancing and millage spikes, but their only proposals continue to be illegal and unconstitutional, and are therefore false promises,” said Pascal, who is a lawyer. “The people of West Leechburg shouldn’t be fooled by these political stunts and antics just before an election.”
As Leechburg Area is a school district that crosses county lines, administrators are required to use a formula provided by STEB that tries to equalize the tax burden for all property owners each budget season.
But rather than producing an equal tax bill among Gilpin, Leechburg and West Leechburg residents, Westmoreland County residents have been hit with consistent increases in their property tax.
Keibler said the public is welcome to attend all meetings and will have a chance to ask questions or make comments.
