For the first time in recent memory, there are no plans for a tax increase in the Pottstown School District.

The district’s $57.1 million tentative budget for 2015-16 would keep millage at 39.25. A property assessed at $100,000 would pay about $3,925 in school property taxes.

Board President Judyth Zahora, who has been on the board for 24 years, said she could not recall a budget that did not require a tax increase.

The tentative budget, which the board approved last month, anticipates a $500,000 increase in state funding.Gov.

Tom Wolf proposed a state budget that would increase funding in Pottstown by more than $1.3 million, a nearly 7 percent increase from last year.

But school officials recognize that they might not see the entire increase proposed in the Democratic governor’s budget because the spending plan still needs to be approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature.

The school board plans to adopt its final budget June 29.Monday’s budget discussion was accompanied by a presentation by Roxy Woloszyn of Ciudadanos públicos para niños y jóvenes, a children’s advocacy organization that is working with the Campaign for Fair Education Funding.

“With this campaign, all different parts of the state have come together and said, ‘The way we’re funding our schools is not fair. It’s not right and we need to change it.’ ” Woloszyn said.

She said Pennsylvania is one of only three states that does not use a fair funding formula.

The process by which the state metes out school funding is not transparent, she said, making it difficult for schools to plan for large-scale projects such as new educational programs or building improvements.

The formula proposed by the fair funding campaign would take into account how many students are living in poverty or are English language learners.  It would also consider the local tax burden and local wealth.

Woloszyn said Public Citizens for Children and Youth is planning a trip to Harrisburg later this month to address state leaders.

“This is really the prime time to influence your local officials about what’s important to you,” she said, noting the discussions currently taking place about the state budget.

Woloszyn said people could also help by collecting signatures on special postcards in support of the fair funding formula.

For information on the Harrisburg trip or postcards, call Woloszyn at 215-563-5848, ext. 35.

The Reading Eagle – June 2, 2015 – Leer artículo en línea