Lower Merion, Narberth property owners to get another school tax increase
LOWER MERION — Property owners in Lower Merion and Narberth can expect a 4.69 percent tax increase when they receive their school district tax bills later this year.
The tax increase is part of the district’s 2024-2025 budget that was approved by the school board at its meeting June 10.
The local property tax increase comes from a rise in the millage rate paid by property owners.
The millage was 32.3948 mills in the 2023-2024 school year. In the upcoming 2024-2025 budget, it will increase to 33.9110 mills. One mill represents $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.
The increase represents about $380 for a property assessed at the average rate of $250,680. A home with that average assessed value would see its tax bill go from $8,121 to $8,501 next year.
Victor Orlando, the school district’s business manager, said that under the state homestead program, the money that lowers school taxes through gambling revenue, the school district received $1 million more than last year, so for the 14,920 residents who have approved homesteads in Lower Merion and Narberth, they will see approximately an extra $72 reduction in their tax bills. In the current year, homeowners saw a $295 reduction in their bill. This year, that reduction will be $361, the highest it’s been in Lower Merion and Narberth since the program began in the early 2000s.
The 4.69 percent increase is lower than the 5.3 percent Act 1 limit. Lower Merion did not need to file a preliminary budget because the district’s increase was under the Act 1 limit.
So, how much is the district spending this year?
The total spending for the 2024-2025 school year is $329.27 million, up from $320.6 million in the 2023-2024 school year budget.
On the expenditure side, salaries and benefits account for 47 percent and 29 percent, of the district’s total spending. All other spending categories, such as supplies, professional and technical services, property, and others account for under 10 percent each. The increase in expenditures is about 2.70 percent from the current year’s budget.
The largest category, salaries and benefits for district employees, will cost the district about $250 million.
Orlando said they will also transfer $5 million from the district’s capital reserve funds. The money will go to replacing the Harriton and Lower Merion chillers, which will cost about $1 million. The Bala Cynwyd Middle School roof is being replaced for about $6 million, but about 75 percent of the cost is expected to come from grants, leaving about $1.6 million from the capital reserve transfer. Finally, the replacement of school buses will cost about $2.4 million. The cost for each item is an estimate and subject to final pricing.
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