Norwin senior citizens could get property tax break for volunteering at schools

Senior citizens in Norwin School District could get a tax break for volunteering in the district.

The school board this week tasked school administrators with researching how the district could create what state law calls a “senior tax reduction incentive volunteer exchange” (STRIVE) program.

School Board President Matt Thomas said the district is just starting to explore whether it should create a program. The idea to consider the program was a collaboration between the board the administration, Thomas said.

STRIVE programs require participating school districts to provide its senior citizens — age 60 and older — a tax credit equal to at least the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 for each hour they volunteer.

The total credit from a volunteer can not exceed the property owner’s tax bill, according to state law.

The schoool district levies a property tax of 85.8 mills for Westmoreland County residents living in Irwin, North Irwin and North Huntingdon, and 12.8 mills for residents living in White Oak and South Versailles in Allegheny County. Of the taxes collected in the Westmoreland portion of the district, revenue from 1.2 mills is allocated to the Norwin Public Library, as approved by a voter referendum.

The school board had voted not to increase real estate taxes for next school year more than the maximum of 5.8 mills set by the state’s tax index for Norwin. The median assessed value of property within the Westmoreland County portion of the district is about $22,300, resulting in the school disrict portion of the tax bill to be about $1,870.

Based on the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin, there would be thousands of residents eligible to volunteer in the district.

Of North Huntingdon’s 31,779 people, about 38% are age 60 and older. In Irwin, about 26% of the borough’s 3,830 people are age 60 and older, while 29% of North Irwin’s 820 residents are 60 and older.

The tax relief program is adopted on a district-by-district basis and can be implemented differently by each board, said Mackenzie Christina, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

Superintendent Jeff Taylor said it could provide additional personnel support to district organizations and improve school-community organizations.

In addition to providing senior citizens with tax relief, it would also give participants a chance to communicate their life skills and experiences to Norwin students and help to develop a greater school and senior citizen community interaction, Taylor said.

The state law says that the volunteer efforts may not replace or supplant existing job positions. To compensate for the tax revenue lost through the tax credits seniors receive for volunteering, school districts can seek private and public funding sources.

The school board association does not track how many schools have adopted the tax relief program, Christina said.