CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield school board held its committee meetings Monday night and next week will consider its 2023-24 Act 1 tax resolution.
In June of 2006, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed the “Taxpayer Relief Act,” or Act 1, requiring school districts to limit tax increases to the level set by an inflation index.
The act only allows districts to raise taxes above the index if it’s approved by a voter referendum, or if the district obtains from the state Department of Education (PDE) or court of common pleas certain referendum exceptions.
It also allows districts’ board of school directors to adopt a resolution indicating it will not raise the rate of any tax for the support of the public schools for the following fiscal year by more than its index.
The resolution, however, must be adopted no later than 110 days prior to the date of election immediately preceding the upcoming fiscal year.
The district’s adjusted index for 2023-24 fiscal year is 5.7 percent, according to Business Administrator Sam Maney, which is the equivalent to just under 6 mills.
If the district would raise taxes equal to the index, it could generate $860,000 in revenues but with the district’s collection rate being 90 to 93 percent, Maney said it would be more like $774,000
The proposed resolution indicates the district has no plans to raise any tax by more than the index and that increasing any tax at a rate less than or equal to the index will be sufficient to balance its final budget.
If the resolution passes next week, the district is not eligible to seek referendum exceptions or request voters’ approval by referendum to increase a tax rate by more than the index.