The coronavirus is sweeping around the globe like the masque of the red death, the American jobless rate is nearly 20%, and Allegheny County residents still have to cover their faces like Red Dead Redemption train robbers to go buy groceries.
Things are looking rough over at Chartiers Valley School District, too.
Earlier this month, CV’s school board approved a preliminary 2020-21 budget that includes a .6523 mill property tax hike, which translates to an additional $65.23 for every $100,000 of your property’s assessed value.
“Our board and the boards before us wrestle with the decision to raise taxes every year,” said school board President Bob Kearney, in a quote that appeared verbatim in both the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and TribLive.com. “We are a frugal and value-oriented community. This is only the seventh time in 20 years we are raising taxes… State and federal funding just isn’t keeping pace with the costs of education.”
The school board is expected to vote on a final budget next month. If this tax hike is approved, the cumulative effect of CV’s recent millage increases would be $199.43 per $100,000 of assessed value.
| Budget Year | Millage Increase | Real Cost Per $100,000 of Assessed Property Value |
| 2016-17 | .3892 | $38.92 |
| 2017-18 | 0.0 | $0.00 |
| 2018-19 | .4643 | $46.43 |
| 2019-20 | .4885 | $48.85 |
| 2020-21 | .6523* | $65.23 |
| TOTAL | $199.43 |
While not many people look forward to writing bigger and bigger tax checks each year, Chartiers Valley’s overall tax rate is still a bargain compared to schools like South Fayette, Mt. Lebanon, and Upper St. Clair.
But local residents should brace for more tax hikes in the near future.
Back in 2018, a Chartiers Valley financial assessment outlined how the district would likely have to raise taxes every year through 2022-2023. Since then, each annual budget has exceeded those projected tax increases.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for June 16 at 6:30 p.m.
The current restrictions on public gatherings have led the school board to meet via Zoom videoconference. To attend, members of the public must visit cvsd.net prior to the meeting to get a Zoom registration code.
Although Zoom makes it easy for school officials to share recordings of those meetings after the fact, Chartiers Valley hasn’t not been doing that.
For reasons that are not clear, Chartiers Valley hasn’t been posting the recordings of these school board meetings for the public to watch afterward.