RTM School Board Not to Exceed Act 1 Index

The Rose Tree Media Board of School Directors voted Thursday not to exceed the 1.7 percent index set by the state.

Each year, the state sets an index for each school district and RTM's index is set at 1.7 percent for the 2013-2014 budget, Board member Bill O'Donnell explained at the meeting.

A school district is permitted to file for exceptions in order to exceed the 1.7 percent index and raise taxes to what the exceptions calculate to without going to referendum, which RTM has done once before, O'Donnell said.

However, RTM voted Thursday to not exceed the 1.7 percent index and not file for exceptions.

"Being the proactive school district that we are, we are going to not exceed the index and not file for the exceptions. So the maximum that taxes would be able to be raised would be 1.7 percent," O'Donnell said. "Without going to referendum, we would not be able to raise (taxes) above that. We would have to go to referendum if we tried to raise taxes over 1.7 percent."

The Act 1 resolution was unanimously approved by the board and reads in part below:

The school district’s various tax levies and other revenue sources will be sufficient to balance the school district final budget for the next fiscal year 2013-14 based on maintaining current tax rates or increasing tax rates by an amount less than or equal to the Act 1 index applicable to the school district as calculated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This conclusion is based on the school district preliminary budget or other information available to the School Board.

The applicable index for the next fiscal year is 1.7 percent, and the School Board will not for the next fiscal year's increase the rate of its real estate tax, or any other tax for the support of public education, by an amount that exceeds the applicable index.