An Open Letter to Residents of the North Penn School District

The November school board election is less than two months away, and candidates from both parties are busy campaigning and asking for your support. The issues, especially the financial issues, affecting our school district are complex, and busy parents and taxpayers don't always have the time to research and validate everything they are told. That's why it is critically important for candidates to present facts as facts, and opinion as opinion, so that voters can accurately assess which candidates' ideas and values deserve their votes.


Unfortunately, we've recently heard about a rumor being circulated in the North Penn area–not to present the facts–but to try and make voters believe that if the Next STEP candidates are elected, property tax rates will skyrocket. This may be someone's misguided political opinion, but it's simply false. Furthermore, what it suggests is not even possible under current state law.


The PA Property Tax Relief Act (Act 1) enacted in 2006 mandates that any proposed property tax hikes that exceed a state-set inflation index must go to a voter referendum. Originally, the bill contained a number of loop-holes that allowed some districts to go around the regulations. Most of those loop-holes were closed when the bill was amended in 2011. Now, the only way school boards can raise taxes above the inflation rate without 
going to the voters would be to fund construction debt incurred before Act 1 passed (before 2006); debt for a spending project that the voters have already approved; and special education expenses. State pension payments above inflation can also be claimed, but the payroll figures used to determine the payments are permanently frozen at the 2012 
amount.


The state-set inflation rate for the 2013-14 school year is 1.7%. The current NP school board approved a budget that would increase revenue by that amount last June. 


We, the Next STEP candidates, are committed to both educational excellence and fiscal responsibility. If elected, we pledge to do everything we can to manage your tax dollars wisely. When faced with important spending decisions, we will seek guidance from parents, teachers and the community at large. And we will certainly comply with all legal requirements. We are taxpayers, too, and the only thing we want to see skyrocket in North Penn is student achievement. 


Thanks for listening and we ask for your vote on November 5, 2013. 



Tina Stoll - Paul Edelman - Murali Balaji - Alex Ryabin

THE NEXT S.T.E.P. FOR NPSD CANDIDATES

Students and Taxpayers Expect Progress
www.nextstepfornpsd.com