Published: July 04, 2009 12:25 am      

Westmont Hilltop raising taxes

Residents are tired of hearing it, and Westmont Hilltop school administrators are tired of saying it: Taxes are on the rise again.

Officials say rising expenditures and an inequitable state funding system leave them with no choice but to hike property levies by 3.81 mills for the 2009-10 school year.

“Everybody’s upset,” said Mitch Azar, school board president. “As a board, we’re upset that we have to do this.”

School board members approved the tax hike earlier this week as part of an $18.77 million budget for the district, which covers Westmont and Southmont boroughs as well as Upper Yoder Township.

The district has raised taxes every year since 1988, leaving the tax rate at its current level of 81 mills. Average taxpayers in the district will see an $80 jump in their bills in the coming fiscal year.

Officials say they’ve cut expenses as deeply as possible without severely impacting the quality of educational programs.

“Our taxes are high, but they’re not high because we spend a lot of money,” said Greg Sanford, the district’s business manager.

To back up his point, Sanford produced statistics showing that Westmont Hilltop spent less per student than any other school district in Cambria County during the 2007-08 school year, the latest data available.

In fact, the district spent $1,621 less per pupil than the county’s $11,145 average.

And in a recent report to the school board, district administrators said “only 8 percent of all the districts in the commonwealth spent less per student than Westmont Hilltop last year.”

Furthermore, the district’s enrollment has grown by about 100 students since 2000-01.

“We’ve figured out ways to absorb those additional students without adding staff or faculty members,” Superintendent Susan Anderson said.

Also, the district has refinanced a recent bond issue, saving about $104,000.

But the problem, officials argue, is that the state’s system for awarding subsidies to all school districts is unfairly skewed against Westmont Hilltop.

Though that formula adjusts subsidies based on the relative wealth of a district’s taxpayers, Westmont leaders say that’s only part of the picture.

Unlike Richland School District, which also receives a low state subsidy, Westmont Hilltop officials have few commercial properties within their district. So a single mill of taxes brings in much more revenue in Richland than in Westmont Hilltop, where the tax burden falls squarely on homeowners.

In the 2008-09 school year, Westmont Hilltop’s state funding again ranked dead last among Cambria County schools. The district’s $1,782-per-student subsidy pales in comparison with the county’s $5,101 average.

State Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, helped obtain some help a few years ago by boosting the district’s annual allocation by about $100,000.

“We’re grateful for that, but we’re still so far behind,” Sanford said.

Another state program – the Act 1 tax-relief money from gambling proceeds – also is providing some relief.

Last year, Westmont Hilltop received enough cash from the state’s slot machines to distribute about $84 per household.

For many property owners, that canceled out last year’s tax hike.

The latest round of gambling money will bring about $80 for each eligible Westmont Hilltop taxpayer in 2009-10. While that will continue to cover last year’s tax hike, it will do nothing to ease the burden of the additional 2009-10 levy.

School officials say they will continue to lobby for more state assistance and a change in the state’s funding formula.

“We’re honestly working hard to try and solve this, but it’s slow in coming,” Azar said.