New Kensington-Arnold School Board agrees to limit possible tax increase

Any property tax increase in the New Kensington- Arnold School District will not be higher than its state- imposed limit.

At a special meeting Tuesday, the school board voted unanimously to tell the state it will not seek to raise its property tax rate by more than 6% for the 2025-26 school year.

The school board has not yet decided on any tax increase, which will not be finalized until June along with the budget. The decision for the district to stay within its limit or begin the process to seek to exceed it had to be made by Jan. 30.

As presented by Jeff McVey, the district’s business manager, a 6% increase would add 5.94 mills to the district’s 99.14-mill tax rate. The district increased taxes by 1.5%, or 1.5 mills, for the current school year, when its limit had been 8%.

The district’s preliminary budget includes a 3-mill increase, or about 3%, McVey said. It shows a slight surplus of nearly $3,000, spending $49.1 million.

The budget does not call for cutting staff.

A 3-mill increase would take the district’s tax rate to 102.14 mills. For a home at the district’s median assessed value of $14,600, it would increase the property tax bill by $44, from $1,447 to $1,491.

For the district, a 3-mill increase would raise about $338,400 in additional collectible revenue.

The district’s total fund balance as of June 30, 2026, is projected to be about $5.7 million, of which about $2.1 million has been assigned. The board can change the assigned fund balance at its discretion, McVey said.

Capital projects, debt

At the start of 2025, New Kensington-Arnold had about $3.5 million in capital funds.

About $804,000 of that is needed to finish existing projects — about $628,000 for an energy project, and about $175,000 for the pedestrian bridges at the high school — leaving about $2.7 million.

The estimated cost of planned projects totals about $3.1 million, about $400,000 more than the money available.

Boiler systems are identified as the most expensive projects over the next four years and beyond — $915,000 at H.D. Berkey Elementary, $835,000 at Roy A. Hunt Elementary and $725,000 at Martin Elementary.

Remodeling the auditorium is estimated to cost $270,500 for seats plus painting, ceiling work and carpeting. Resurfacing the track is estimated to cost about $145,500 to $245,350. Roof work on the administration/athletic building is estimated at $188,950.

Some projects do not yet have costs associated with them. They include boilers at the high school, the bridge to the Northern Westmoreland Career & Technology Center, flooring at Berkey, and districtwide building envelope improvements and restroom and locker room renovations.

The district has about $35 million in debt. Its debt service will cost about $4.2 million in 2025-26.

It will see a “significant reduction,” $843,530, in its annual debt payments beginning in the 2026-27 fiscal year, McVey said in his presentation. There will be another, one-time deduction of $232,680 in 2029-30.

The district will be out of general obligation debt in May 2035.

Lower debt payments will free money to pay for the work. The last major renovation in the district dates to 1998-99, officials said.

“I am very encouraged where we are fiscally,” board President Tim Beckes said. “We have a lot of options.”