Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

ktxhopem3276 t1_j6ibljn wrote

Reply to comment by uglybushes in School Me on the Property Tax Assessment Appeal by 3RudySquared

Due to ongoing lawsuits the 80% number may be revised to 63%

They spent $140 million on buildings. The high school was $60 mil. Many districts build new schools around the same time. Bethel park built a $100 mil school. The new buildings were symptoms of the problem in Penn hills not the cause. The whole district was run poorly with poor accounting and declining enrollment and a shrinking tax base.

Here is some actual information on the school district instead of made up numbers

https://www.wesa.fm/education/2019-02-05/penn-hills-school-district-172-million-in-debt-according-to-grand-jury-report

https://www.publicsource.org/penn-hills-school-elementary-finances-oversight-academics/

10

uglybushes t1_j6ic5k5 wrote

Oh so you think the school was money well spent and not a cash grab by board members and contractors?

−7

ktxhopem3276 t1_j6id032 wrote

Don’t put words in my mouth. I said the new schools were a symptom not the cause itself. They were part of a larger problem of poor budgeting. My point is other districts built new schools but properly budgeted for it and had the luxury of larger tax base.

8

uglybushes t1_j6ida9p wrote

It’s almost like the did have a budget but realized they could grift and steal money in the process and no one would do anything, so they did

−5

ktxhopem3276 t1_j6ie5io wrote

I’m not disputing that and you are trying to straw man my point. I’m disputing your exaggerated numbers and oversimplification in your original comment that might perpetuate a false narrative that the students didn’t deserve a new school

6

uglybushes t1_j6ifdn7 wrote

Home owners don’t deserve the tax rate for quality of schools they receive. New building don’t educate better. 10% of the Money could have been spent on early education and that would have lead to a 1000x better school district in 10 years

3

ktxhopem3276 t1_j6ignob wrote

You are still missing the point I’m trying to make. Penn hills wasn’t unique in building new schools. They built new schools without a large enough tax base to pay for them. It’s not like they were a good district before they spent the money. It has become a self fulfilling prophecy as people learn the school district is failing, housing prices go down which means tax rate has to go up. I support early education and they should spend money on the most effective solutions. Your exaggerated numbers are obnoxious

8