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<b>First Posted:</b> 5/28/2009<br><br>Mark Guydish
At a noon meeting,  Area School Board approved a preliminary budget that increases property taxes about 5.6 percent which will mean about half the district property owners will see their bills increase by about $56 or less, Business Manager Leonard Pryzwara said. But he stressed the budget is still under development.

The state still hasn't finalized it's education budget, and in fact the senate version would cut funding coming to Wilkes-Barre Area by about $1 million compared to the budget proposed by Gov.&amp;nbsp;Ed Rendell, Pryzwara said. The district is also seeing constant changes in property values as residents appeal values set under the new, county-wide reassessment being implemented this summer.
At the start of the year, under the new assessed values, the district had total property value of more than $3.1 billion, but lost $1.2 million of that thanks to reductions given through the appeals process, Pryzwara noted. Since the district must raise the same amount of money, as the assessed values go down, the tax rate inches up.
The preliminary budget sets total spending for 2009-10 at a bit more than $92.7 million, roughly $3 million more than this year. Pryzwara said $1 1 million of the increase is essentially a reserve for what is expected to be an enormous increase in district payments toward retirement pensions.
The state annually sets a rate each district must pay. That rate is calculated as a percentage of teacher pay, and is 4.7 percent next year. But the state has projected that big losses in the pension fund due to the financial market collapse will force districts to pay 26 percent in 2012-13. The state could avoid that by stretching the increase&amp;nbsp; over several years, but it has suggested districts consider setting aside money for what appears to be a looming substantial increase.
The tax rate will be 15.305 mills, which reflects changes forced by reassessment. Property values have risen sharply, which means a mill - a $1 tax for every $1,000 of assessed value - raises much more money than in the past. Districts must adjust the millage rate down accordingly. The amount property owners pays doesn't decrease, just the millage.
The rate this year is 310 mills, which under the new system would be about 14.5 mills. The tax increase brings that to 15.3 mills. Pryzwara said under the old system, the increase would have been about 17 mills.
The median property value in the district is $72,000, meaning half the properties are worth more and half are worth less than that. for a person with a $72,000 home, the tax increase is about $56, Pryzwara said. But he noted eligible homeowners will see their bills reduced by $210 thanks to the property tax exemption provided through money raised by legalized gambling.
The board also accepted the written resignation of President James Height, who resigned shortly before he was charged with corruption in a federal probe. Height is set to appear at a federal hearing Friday morning. The board elected Frank&amp;nbsp;Pizella president and Michael McGinley as vice-president
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Wilkes-Barre Area preliminary budget ups taxes 5.6 percent