PRINT ARTICLE

Print    Close This Window
School board approves proposed final budget for 2022-23
2022 Board of Education
The North Hills School District Board of Education unanimously approved the proposed final budget for the 2022-23 school year at its committee meeting with action held Thursday, April 28 in the LGI Room at the North Hills Middle School.

The proposed budget has revenues and expenditures of $91,612,966 and includes a real estate tax increase of .66 mills.

With the proposed tax increase, North Hills’ millage rate would go from 19.04 to 19.70 mills. Homeowners with a home valued at $150,000 would pay $99 more per year or $8.25 per month.

At $91.6 million, the budget is more than $3 million greater last year’s budget of $88.3 million.

In prepared remarks, Board of Education President Allison Mathis said the main driver of the budget increase is increased enrollment and necessary personnel additions.

The 2022-23 budget includes:

  • Learning support teacher at the high school
    • This is needed due to enrollment increase in special education.
  • Learning support teacher at the middle school
    • This is needed due to enrollment increase in special education.
  • First grade teacher
    • This is needed due to increased first grade sections at McIntyre Elementary.
  • Fourth grade teacher
    • This is needed due to increased fourth grade sections at McIntyre Elementary.
  • Biology/chemistry teacher at the high school
    • This is needed due to increased students at the high school.
  • Assistant principal at the middle school
    • This would permanently add a second assistant principal at the middle school, a position that was always intended to be added when sixth grade moved to the middle school but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Certified School Nurse
  • Student Assistance Program (SAP) counselor for elementary
    • We currently have just one SAP counselor serving 2,137 students across four buildings. An additional counselor would provide much needed assistance and reduce the ratio to 1,069 across two buildings for each counselor.
  • Student Assistance Program (SAP) counselor for high school
    • We currently have just one SAP counselor serving 1,377. An additional counselor would reduce the ratio to 689 students for each counselor.
The proposed budget uses $1,088,000 from our COVID-19 relief American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund. A similar amount is projected to be used in the 2023-24 budget with the remaining funding used in 2024-25.

The proposed budget does not use the remaining $677,548 in the district’s Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) fund balance. The fund balance was started over a decade ago as a savings account, of sorts, to smooth out the rapid increases in the state’s mandated PSERS contribution over the years. The funds, however, are dwindling, and while not unexpected, Mrs. Mathis cautiously reminded the board the district will need to consider revenue increases and/or cost savings when that time comes. As you may recall, the 2021-22 budget included nearly $1.2 million from PSERS fund balance.

“Our goal every year is to make sure we are asking for the lowest possible increase that will enable us to educate and serve our students at the level our community expects,” Mrs. Mathis said to open her remarks, adding later, “We are hopeful our plan to pursue real estate assessments based on property sale prices for certain properties sold on or after July 1 will keep future tax increases as low as possible.”

The proposed final budget is now available for public inspection for 30 days at the district’s administration center located at 135 Sixth Avenue in Ross Township Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

A final public budget meeting, during which the final budget will be discussed, is set for Wednesday, May 18, at Ross Elementary School at 7 p.m.

The final budget for the 2022-23 school year will be up for approval at the school board’s meeting on June 2.