Haverford School Board Approves Lowest Tax Increase in 17 Years

The Haverford Township Board of School Directors on Thursday night unanimously approved the school district’s 2012-2013 final budget, which includes a 2.73 percent property tax increase.

It is the lowest tax increase which has been approved by the Haverford school board since 1995, School Board member Russell Bilotta said during a discussion about the budget.

The 2.73 percent property tax increase amounts to about $114 in additional taxes per year, per household, or about $9.50 more per month, Bilotta explained.  The $114 increase is based on Haverford Township's average residential property assessment of $161,045.

There was no public comment about the budget when the public was given the opportunity to address the board during the meeting.

The approved budget includes a $1.2 million ending fund balance, which translates to about 1.4 percent of the district’s total budget, School Board member James Goldschmidt said.

Total expenditures for the 2012-2013 final budget are $94.2 million and total revenues are $92.8 million, Business Manager Richard Henderson told the Haverford-Havertown Patch.

In the approved final budget, the numbers for the property tax increase, fund balance, expenditures and revenues remained the same as what was presented as part of the proposed final budget, Henderson said.

Meanwhile, the state budget has yet to be approved.

During board reports, School Board member Larry Feinberg, the board’s legislative liaison, said it is a “dangerous time of year” in the state legislature.

“We’re still waiting to see how the budget settles out,” Feinberg said.  “I don’t know that it’s going to make a difference one way or the other in Haverford, but for some of our neighbors it could be significant.”