Penn-Trafford board approves $69.95 million budget with 3-mill tax increase after debate

Glenn Leavitt, board president, called the Penn-Trafford School District board to order Monday and the meeting moved quickly to budget and finance, where the board ultimately adopted the 2025–26 budget and a 3-mill real-estate tax increase.

The board adopted a total budget of $69,954,693 and set the district real-estate tax at 93.75 mills, with the Allegheny County portion for Trafford Borough set at 14.39 mills. The motion to approve the budget with the 3-mill increase passed 8–1 on a roll-call vote.

The vote came after extensive discussion about how the district would close gaps under different millage scenarios and how much of the fund balance would be used. Brett, the district’s business manager, told the board that the district had already made cuts and that a 2.5-mill increase would require roughly $250,000 from the fund balance, while a 3-mill increase would reduce that reliance to about $100,000. Brett…