School Business Administrator: Wissahickon Residents are “Under-taxed”

At the Wissahickon School District facilities committee meeting on Monday, May 5, the business administrator stated that residents and property owners of Whitpain, Lower Gwynedd and Ambler are under-taxed. Most of us that write the huge check every August probably disagree. The business administrator, who strongly influences the school board, made the statement during a discussion about building a new high school which would require taxes to be raised and assuming a large amount of debt. From the meeting, it is clear that the business administrator is promoting a new high school which would cost a minimum of $70 Million and could be over $100 Million based on new high schools built in the area.

During questioning, the business administrator said that property owners are “under-taxed” because Wissahickon has the lowest real estate tax rate in Montgomery County. But this is not a fair measurement of tax burden because property values vary greatly across Montgomery County with homes in this area valued much higher than typical. This means that even though the tax rate may be lower, the burden on Whitpain, Lower Gwynedd and Ambler homeowners is more than homeowners in other school districts.

A better measurement of tax burden is the amount of local tax money collected per student. In the 2012-2013 school year, Wissahickon collected $69 Million in local taxes with an enrollment of 4436 students in the school district - this equates to $15,564 per student. This is the 8th highest out of 21 school districts in Montgomery County, and 16th out of 495 school districts across Pennsylvania. We are certainly not “under-taxed”.

The Blue Bell Tea Party Patriots is monitoring the consideration of building a new high school and the implications to students and taxpayers in Wissahickon. The next BBTPP meeting is on Tuesday May 27, 7PM at the Whitpain Township building.