Near the end of the Bethlehem Area School District’s regular meeting, the topic of property taxation was raised by board President Michael Faccinetto.

Faccinetto commented that the Pa. School Boards Association had reported on the status of the Senate bill that would put further restrictions on the amount that a school district could raise property taxes.

Introduced as Senate Bill 909, the Taxpayer Relief Act, also known as the Taxation Empowerment and Accountability Act, would require future real estate tax increases proposed by school districts to be ratified through a voter referendum. Sen. Donald White, (R, Armstrong, Butler, Indiana and Westmoreland counties), said in a statement to lawmakers that he introduced the bill as part of a wider debate over property tax relief.

“Without a strong voter referendum in place, school districts will be able to continue raising taxes despite any efforts we make to increase education funding, restrain pension contributions and provide property tax relief to homeowners,” White said. “For us to enact such reforms without ensuring the taxpayer relief that is promised remains in effect is tantamount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.”

White thinks that people will support tax increases that they consider to be warranted.

“My legislation not only empowers voters, but makes them more accountable for the educational environment in their own communities, while requiring school districts to convince the public the product being provided is worth additional taxpayer investment,” White said.

The bill also calls for the adoption of preliminary budget proposals, and property tax limits on reassessed properties. It went before the Senate Finance Committee on Sept. 29, but no votes were taken.

Faccinetto said the bill takes away school districts’ authority to tax above the Act 1 level.

According to the bill, “the board of school directors will not increase any tax (at a rate that exceeds the index as calculated by the department).” The index takes into consideration the school district’s employment costs and the amount of aid it receives from the state. Any resolution by the board to not raise taxes must be done at least 110 days prior to the upcoming fiscal year.

“We don’t want the legislators to tell us how to spend our money, when they don’t care to fund us,” Faccinetto said.

School districts throughout the state continue to wait for state funds that are tied up due to the lack of a passed budget. The budget was supposed to be passed in July, but is currently at a standstill. A stopgap budget was approved by the Senate in mid-September, then passed by the House along party lines. Called the School Code bill, House Bill 224, provides $11 billion in spending to cover the state’s obligations from July to October 2015. This would provide “roughly one-third of the total funding in each of the education line items to school districts and releasing all the federal funds,” the PSBA reported.”

Gov. Tom Wolf has said he would most likely veto the bill, because “it does not provide a comprehensive solution to the budget impasse. As a result, you should not expect to receive any dollars as a result of this effort,” PSBA said.