North Hills School District Board of Education members
approved the district’s 2018-19 final budget during their June 7 legislative meeting.
The final budget with expenditures totaling $84,166,526 allows North Hills to
continue to provide quality educational programs and facilities for district
students.The budget has revenues of $80,389,127. It will be balanced with a $1,277,399 transfer from the PSERS fund balance, specifically set aside to counteract state-mandated increases in pension contributions, and a $2.5 million transfer from the general fund balance to the capital projects fund to cover the high school roof replacement.
The budget is available online.
North Hills’ spending plan for next school year contains a 0.25
mill increase to 18.25 mills. The expected total revenue of $650,000 from the
millage increase will be allotted to support enhanced safety and security
objectives throughout the district and increased personnel costs related to
enrollment increases.
Overall, the budget marks a 2.5 percent increase in total
expenditures, and 2.3 percent of which stems from the net addition of 15 new
positions in various departments across the district. Employee wages and
benefits continue to be the budget’s largest expenditure at a cost of $58,104,178.
This amount marks an increase of 4.15 percent over last year’s personnel costs.
Beyond personnel expenditures, the budget increases by $152,551
or .67 percent.
The millage rate increase, which is approximately only half
of the district’s Act 1 index, will increase property tax bills on a median
home in North Hills, valued at $135,500, by $2.82 monthly or $33.88 annually.
“We continue to work diligently to manage our annual
operating expenses and responsibly plan for the future in order to minimize the
impact on our local taxpayers,” said North Hills School District’s Director of
Finance and Operations David Hall.
North Hills School District currently boasts the sixth
lowest millage rate among Allegheny County’s 41 suburban school districts, and
the lowest millage rate among the nine northern area school districts.
In the current economic climate, North Hills continues to work
to improve efficiencies, while preserving quality academic programs. In the
budget, the district has allotted:
- Funds for numerous staff positions including five elementary
classroom teachers, one middle school and three elementary computer science/math
teachers, four school police officers, a middle school student assistance
specialist, three elementary special education positions and increased coverage
for secondary German needs.
- $198,192 will be allotted into a safety and security fund to
pay for various enhancements to the district’s safety and security programs and
procedures as they are identified and approved by the school board.
- $165,000 for installation of additional security cameras and
replacement of older security cameras at various buildings.
- $304,493 for new curriculum materials in accordance with the
North Hills curriculum adoption cycle. Updated curriculum materials will be
used in elementary math, secondary family and consumer science and secondary
world languages.
- $14,908 for equipment and curricular materials related to
enhancements of the health and physical education department at the secondary
level. In the 2018-19 school year, students will have the opportunity to choose
from a slate of reimagined courses including Outdoor Adventures with training
on canoeing, flyfishing, kayaking, archery and rock climbing; Foundations of
Yoga, Pilates and Mindfulness; Personal Fitness and Sports Officiating and
Principals of Coaching.
A total of 11,369 Ross and West View property owners, who
have filed Act 1 exemption forms, will see a lower tax bill due to state
gambling revenues. This year’s Act 1 reduction is $126.02 for qualified
homeowners.
Each North Hills mill is estimated to be worth $2,600,000.