Board approves $100M proposed final budget for 2025-26 with no tax increase

The North Hills School District Board of Education approved the proposed final budget for the 2025-26 school year at its committee meeting on Thursday, May 1. The meeting was held in the LGI room at North Hills Middle School.

The total proposed budget is $100,117,355, reflecting a 0.14 percent increase over this year's budget of $99,979,330. Notably, the budget includes no real estate tax increase.

The spending plan includes funding for a new certified school nurse and the replacement of 3,600 iPads for students in grades K-8. The current iPads are five years old, with outdated operating systems that may not be compatible with current instructional software and security safeguards. Students in grades 9-12 currently receive Dell laptops, which were purchased prior to the 2024-25 school year.

With no real estate tax increase, the district's millage rate will remain at 20.37, among the lowest in Allegheny County.

“We really wanted to come away with no tax increase this year,” said school director and finance committee chair Samantha Ellwood. “We know that people have faced significant tax increases outside of the school district, and we want to be good stewards of the work we are elected to do.”

NHSD Director of Finance Jerry Muth detailed how the district achieved a zero tax increase during the May 1 meeting. He attributed it to several “infrequent events and expenditures” in the current 2024-25 budget, including the $1 million replacement of the district’s network infrastructure. There are no similarly large expenditures in the proposed 2025-26 budget.

In addition, certain one-time expenses for information technology equipment and instructional materials funded by COVID-19 relief funding over the last three years are not included in next year’s budget, as those federal funds were fully expended by September 30, 2024.

Funding for support positions that remain vacant, but were included in the current year's budget, has been removed from the 2025-26 budget. This reduction resulted in a $532,000 decrease in proposed expenditures.

“We have been unable to fill these positions, but we’ve still been able to maintain successful operations, so we decided to eliminate those positions from the 2025-26 budget,” Superintendent Dr. Patrick Mannarino explained.

For the upcoming year, the district secured a manufacturing grant, which will be used, in part, to offset recurring personnel costs.

Proceeds from the sale of the aging iPads, a transfer from the Debt Service Fund, and a reduction in the transfer to the Capital Project Fund also impact the proposed 2025-26 budget.

In total, these infrequent events amount to $2.8 million, which is roughly the same as the additional revenue the district would have received if it had chosen to raise taxes by the maximum 4.7 percent allowed under Act 1. This increase would have generated an additional $2.8 million based on the district’s current assessed value of $2.9 billion.

While acknowledging this year’s fortunate circumstances, Muth noted that such opportunities may not recur in the future. He also highlighted the upcoming contract negotiations for transportation and support staff, which are expected to pose significant challenges.

Board President Allison Mathis expressed appreciation for the administration's work on the budget, noting, “It was very important to myself and several other board members that we pass a budget with a zero percent tax increase and hold the line on taxes this year.”

Mathis also mentioned the impact of recent tax increases in the community. She said, “There was a 36 percent Allegheny County property tax increase this year, along with an increase in Ross Township taxes. Multiple tax increases on our community are stressful. Furthermore, the county increase does not benefit school district revenue because it was not generated from a property reassessment. Had the property tax increase from the county come from a reassessment, local school districts would have benefited as well.”

Mathis reiterated the ongoing need for Cyber Charter funding reform, which costs the district approximately $2 million annually due to the current funding formula.

When asked about the potential future consequences of not raising taxes this year, Muth emphasized the district's focus on finding alternative revenue sources.

“The goal every year should be to come up with a budget that doesn’t raise taxes. The challenge is to find ways to be more efficient and explore other revenue streams before resorting to tax increases,” he said.

All nine board members voted in favor of the proposed $100 million spending plan.

The proposed final budget is available for public inspection at the district’s administration building, located at 135 Sixth Avenue in Ross Township, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It can also be viewed here.

A fourth and final public budget meeting will be held immediately following the May 15 school board meeting in the middle school LGI room. The board meeting begins at 6:15 p.m. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend both meetings.

The 2025-26 final budget will be up for approval at the school board's meeting on June 5.