The following is the third in a five-part series, in which candidates for seats on the North Penn school board answer questions from the AAUW Lansdale Branch. For more information and their full voter guide visit www.aauwlansdale.org.
Question three: AAUW has been involved with the state-wide Fair Funding of Schools initiative and is interested in your viewpoint about fair funding of schools, particularly North Penn School District. Do you support abolishing funding for schools by using the property tax? If so, what would be your proposed funding mechanism? What modifications in current funding assessments do you support?
Elisha Gee: Pennsylvania schools have been underfunded for decades by the state. We must advocate with our state representatives to support equitable funding for school districts in PA including funding in special education. At this point, I would not support abolishing property tax because it is our only way of funding schools at this time. We cannot rely on Harrisburg to fund every district in Pennsylvania. We must continue to be fiscally responsible for all our neighbors on a fixed income, while investing in our schools that will add to the value of our community. This board has considered the need for our most vulnerable neighbors by instituting a property tax rebate program which we have increased every year for the past five years.
Tim MacBain: The current property tax system has flaws, but it remains one of the most reliable and consistent methods of funding tremendously important local services, not least of which is the education and wellbeing of our community’s children. To link such vital services to other individual and more volatile funding sources such as the sales tax alone, would threaten our ability to take proper care of our most disadvantaged neighbors and to prepare our students for their futures.
With that said, we certainly understand the pressures that property taxes can place upon our most vulnerable community members, particularly the elderly and those with fixed incomes. We’ve taken bold steps by creating a first-of-its-kind school tax rebate program several years ago, which has provided significant relief to both homeowners and renters who qualify for state tax relief. After partnering with area organizations to educate neighbors about this process, increasing the rebate level from one year to the next, and personally reaching out to neighbors to spread awareness of this opportunity, our program has grown to include hundreds of yearly participants who receive an average rebate of over $500. We look forward to continuing this work and hope to continue to find ways to create more equitable solutions for our neighbors.
Finally, to help address the impacts of funding and other state government policies on school districts like ours, I have added legislative updates to our regular committee reports every month to foster informed and civil advocacy for public education from our community.
Juliane Ramic: Many have shared ideas on school funding overhauls and alternative options. Any effort to reconsider how the state of Pennsylvania and local communities fund public education would need to be well-researched, evaluated, vetted, and implemented with fidelity. We also know that in all likelihood, this would be a years-long process for consideration, debate, decision, and implementation. Until we are able to do that, I fully support and will continue to advocate for improvements within and full support of funding mechanisms that we already have in place.
These include supporting the Fair Funding Formula, charter school reform, full funding for IDEA and restoring PlanCon reimbursements.
If the Fair Funding Formula were to be applied to the North Penn School District, this would result in an additional $8 million a year in funding. With this level of funding, North Penn students would receive their fair share of educational programming and support, and could mean that we would not need to make the difficult decision to raise taxes or would not need to raise taxes to the full level of the Act 1 index.
In addition to the Fair Funding Formula, I support full, continuous funding for the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) and reinstating the Planning and
Construction Workbook funding (PlanCon). IDEA is key foundational legislation that ensures educational equality for children with disabilities aged 3 to 21. IDEA is a federal funding effort with the majority of the funding being passed through to states. IDEA was last reauthorized in 2019 and between annual appropriation shortfalls, the mandates for supporting access to education for children with disabilities are firmly in place but at times, the funding falls short. Our North Penn special education program and the students it serves deserve the full investment in the ideals set forward in IDEA.
Pennsylvania once had funding to support school districts in need of tackling infrastructure projects. PlanCon was a program whereby school districts could apply for reimbursements for major school renovation projects. With 18 academic buildings, some that were first opened in the 1950s and one of the oldest, unrenovated high schools in the county, the investment in our district’s infrastructure is critical. Without PlanCon support, the burden of the cost of renovation projects falls on our community’s tax payers.
Kunbi Rudnick: I do not support abolishing funding for schools through property taxes. While I recognize concerns about equity, property taxes play a vital role in local education funding. I propose refining assessment methods to address disparities to reflect property values accurately. Additionally, I would advocate for increasing state funding to complement property taxes, ensuring all students receive quality education regardless of their community’s wealth. A balanced approach preserves local control while addressing inequalities and maintaining educational standards.
Cathy Wesley: I certainly would not want to see the abolishment of property taxes. It is the most stable form of taxation. If property taxes are eliminated, how would our 70-plus-percent of revenue be replaced? I would like to see reform of our state funding first. Having 100 percent of basic education funding flow through the new funding formula would result in about $7 million more in state funding for NP.
Vince Altieri: This is a complicated question that has been debated over and over again. Since what I despise most about politicians (I am ALL PARENT, NO POLITICS) is their reluctance to specifically answer a question, I will simply state that taxpayers with children attending a school should bear the lion share of the cost. I would also add that Politicians love to muddy the waters with laws such as “hold harmless” while also going on and on about rebate programs. Here is a simple concept – “Stop raising taxes by being FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE and all the rebate programs that are touted will not be needed”. Furthermore, reckless spending on football stadiums and health care clinics, when school renovations needed to be a priority are all examples of failed leadership! Why should a NPSD community member trust how its tax dollars are spent when the only people prospering are construction and insurance companies? Clearly our children are not prospering given the double digit decline in our Academic ranking. Lastly, why are politicians and the teachers unions so afraid of “school choice?” – follow the tax dollars is my answer.
Diana Blystone: I support school districts current funding structure. I believe the board of directors have the responsibility to balance the priorities of the district’s needs, along with fiscal responsibility to the community taxpayers.
Liz Vazquez: The current structure is fine. However; tax dollars should be spent responsibly.
This is the third in a five-part series presented in partnership between the AAUW Lansdale Branch and The Reporter; for more information visit www.aauwlansdale.org.
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit www.thereporteronline.com.
See also:
North Penn School Board Candidates Answer Questions from AAUW Lansdale Branch: Part 2
North Penn School Board Candidates Answer Questions from AAUW Lansdale Branch: Part 1
