Keystone Oaks School District’s Board of School Directors approved the District’s 2018-2019 Final Budget during their Business/Legislative Meeting on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. The Final Budget, with expenditures totaling $42,929,629, allows Keystone Oaks to implement a new elementary strings program and enhance technology throughout the District.
Keystone Oaks’ spending plan for next school contains a .2289 mill increase to 19.306 mills. The millage rate, which is within the District’s Act 1 index, will increase property tax bills $22.89 annually for a home valued at $100,000. The District has not raised taxes since the 2016-2017 school year and this year’s tax increase is to offset the impact of a revenue shortfall due to an anticipated reduction in property value for a large commercial property in the District.
A median home in the Keystone Oaks School District valued at $114,000 will pay a property tax bill of approximately $2,200, before any exemptions. The budget is available on the district’s website: http://www.kosd.org/FiscalServices.aspx.
Among the items included in the budget are funds for:
- The implementation of an instrumental strings program in the elementary schools, which includes the addition of 1.5 elementary music teachers.
- Increasing the number of librarians available at the elementary schools from 1.5 to two full-time librarians.
- New science text books for third, fourth and fifth grades.
- More than $175,000 to install additional wireless internet access points throughout the District and to increase the capacity of the wireless system.
The largest increase in the budget is in the District’s contribution to the Public School Employee’s Retirement System, with an estimated $5.5 million in contributions in the 2018-2019 school year. Additionally, Keystone Oaks School District is anticipating an increase of $330,000 in tuition paid to charter schools. To help the public better understand some of the largest portions of the district’s budget, the Board of School Directors has put together a series of “By the Numbers” reports that break down fund balance, employee pensions, school district debt, and out-of-district placements. Those reports are available under the “School Board” section of the District’s website.
A total of 5,443 Castle Shannon, Dormont & Green Tree approved Homestead property owners, who have filed Act 1 exception forms, will see a lower tax bill due to state gambling revenues. The $155.90 real estate tax reduction results in a larger decrease for qualified home owners.