New Pa. law gives greater control to property owners - Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

HARRISBURG -- Voters will soon have greater control of schoolproperty taxes through a bill passed in the state LegislatureThursday night.

The bill signed Thursday night by Gov. Tom Corbett requiresschool boards to submit to voters property tax increases aboveinflation.

It provides exemptions for schools that need the extra revenue topay off grandfathered debt, or fulfill special education or pensionobligations.

The legislation modifies a similar 2006 law, Act 1, that had 13exemptions. Some of the exemptions eliminated include schoolconstruction, maintenance and health care costs.

Corbett and other critics maintained that, because of theexemptions, Act 1 did not provide residents enough protection fromschool property tax increases above inflation.

It was a priority for Corbett, who threatened not to sign the2011-12 budget unless he got the referendum legislation.

According to Department of Education data, school property taxesstatewide have increased an average of 6.2 percent, or $324 millionper year, since the 1981-82 school year. In the available four yearsof data since Act 1 was implemented, the average increase has been$311 million per year.

James Broussard, chairman of Citizens Against Higher Taxes, saidin the 'original Act 1 there were so many exemptions ... all aschool board had to do is say, 'Please let us ignore thisreferendum,' and they (the Department of Education or courts) saidyes.'

Since 2006, there have been 14 referendums. All but one failed.In comparison, the Department of Education approved 168 exemptionssince the 2008-09 school year.

Philadelphia Democratic analyst Larry Ceisler described the newlegislation as 'artificial ceilings on school district spending'since 'no school board wants to go through a referendum.'

Senate leaders argued the bill places too many restrictions ondistricts that may need to build schools.

Senate Minority leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, said it was not'appropriate at this point' to force school districts through thereferendum process to engage in 'new construction projects that arewarranted and ... ultimately save money for the school districts.'

Broussard, of Lebanon, who supports the new law but hopes allexemptions are eventually removed, said one of the 'real drivers' ofincreased property taxes is 'Taj Mahal school building projects.'

Warning of possible negative effects, Thomas Baldino, politicalscience professor at Wilkes University, said the new law could be'very troubling for school boards because the tendency will be forthe public to vote down most tax increases so school boards willstruggle to tax increases at the rate of inflation.'

To combat this, Baldino predicts that school boards will increaseproperty taxes, every year, at the rate of inflation to combatunexpected costs that would otherwise require them to go toreferendum.