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2 Western Pa. school districts shifted money around to raise taxes, Pa. auditor general says
Two Western Pennsylvania school districts are among a dozen across the state accused by Pennsylvania’s auditor general of moving money in their budgets to raise taxes above a state limit without voter approval. North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan in Washington County were included in the audit, which looked at finances between 2018 and 2021.
The findings, revealed in a report released Wednesday by Auditor General Timothy DeFoor, suggest the districts are “strategically transferring and ‘committing’ funds” in order to raise taxes despite having millions of dollars in general fund accounts.
“These districts have found a way to use the law to their advantage so they could always raise property taxes,” Mr. DeFoor said. “It’s basically a ‘shell game’ that allowed these 12 school districts to collectively raise taxes 37 times during the four years we reviewed, which increased their respective General Fund accounts to $390 million.”
In addition to North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan, districts included in the audit are Abington, Bethlehem Area, Hempfield, Lower Merion, Neshaminy, Northampton, North Penn, Penn Manor, Lancaster and West Chester Area. The districts, which had not been audited by the state since 2017, were chosen because of the size of their fund balances.
Each district had also applied for exceptions to the Act 1 index, or the maximum tax increase set by the state. The exception, managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, allows approved districts to raise taxes above the index to cover costs related to construction debt, special education and retirement contributions. It bypasses a voter referendum, which is typically required to raise taxes above that threshold.
The findings, revealed in a report released Wednesday by Auditor General Timothy DeFoor, suggest the districts are “strategically transferring and ‘committing’ funds” in order to raise taxes despite having millions of dollars in general fund accounts.
“These districts have found a way to use the law to their advantage so they could always raise property taxes,” Mr. DeFoor said. “It’s basically a ‘shell game’ that allowed these 12 school districts to collectively raise taxes 37 times during the four years we reviewed, which increased their respective General Fund accounts to $390 million.”
In addition to North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan, districts included in the audit are Abington, Bethlehem Area, Hempfield, Lower Merion, Neshaminy, Northampton, North Penn, Penn Manor, Lancaster and West Chester Area. The districts, which had not been audited by the state since 2017, were chosen because of the size of their fund balances.
Each district had also applied for exceptions to the Act 1 index, or the maximum tax increase set by the state. The exception, managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, allows approved districts to raise taxes above the index to cover costs related to construction debt, special education and retirement contributions. It bypasses a voter referendum, which is typically required to raise taxes above that threshold.
- more at link -
What bothers me about these tax increases, is that it never goes towards salary increases for the teachers.
