Will the public ever have a chance to vote on an Earned Income Tax as one means of helping to close a huge projected budget gap facing the T/E School District? That's the question members of the current school board will have a chance to answer tonight at 7:30 in the Conestoga High School cafeteria. All the candidates from both parties who ran in last week's election are on the record as being "personally opposed" to the tax. That does not necessarily mean some members of the board wouldn't vote to let the issue go to a public vote. That's not as unlikely as it may appear because a "yes" vote…

Even if the T/E School Board approves a ballot referendum and the voters then approve a one percent Earned Income Tax, the District's financial outlook is anything but rosy... unless the roses are covered in red ink. According to the T/E Tax Study Group report presented to the school board and the public Thursday, even with a EIT the district would most likely still be faced with a $23 million budget shortfall at the end of the 2016 school budget year.  According to the report, that $23 million deficit projection assumes that Easttown and Tredyffrin Townships supervisors would vote to take …

Eight of ten candidates for the T/E School Board answered six of the 20+ questions submitted by audience members during a League of Women Voters sponsored forum Tuesday at the Tredyffrin Municipal Building. The two hour format - which included time for opening statments (2 minutes), closing statements (2 minutes) and 90 seconds each for candidates to answer questions on topics that ranged from support for the arts and athletics to competitive contract bidding on building projects to vouchers- allowed for six questions. It's math that virtually any student at Conestoga High School would be …

There have been months of talk about a possible Earned Income Tax being levied in the T/E School District. In the coming weeks, nearly two months of discussions and hearings will culminate in what will be two public presentations of the T/E Tax Study Group’s findings on the pros and cons of an Earned Income Tax. The volunteer public Tax Study Group, which has been guided by the District’s Business Manager Art McDonnell, Vice President of the School Board Betsy Fadem and Dr. Dave Davare of the Pennsylvania School Board Association, will present its findings on Thursday, November 3. There will …

If you want to be heard on a proposal to impose an earned income tax (EIT) to help close an anticipated budget gap of as much as $15 million in the T/E School District operating budget in the next five years, Thursday is your last chance before the proposal moves to the next step. The proposal has been studied by a panel of volunteers since early September. The EIT Tax Study group has heard testimony from experts and the public and is now working on presenting its findings to the public and the school board. Those presentations are scheduled for 1p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday November 3. That …

Last year, the TE District was looking down the barrel of a $2 million budget deficit. State and federal funding was initially cut, and with the maximum percentage the district was allowed to raise taxes set then at 1.4 percent, revenue streams were beginning to dry up. The projections improved and a potential budget crisis eased with the use of budget reserves, the reinstatement of $1.3 million in state funding, pay increase waivers agreed to by the district’s teachers and support staff.  The district managed to whittle down its deficit to just over $777,000 by the end of the budget process…

With two meetings down and three to go, T/E’s Tax Study Group members are digging deeper into the questions surrounding an Earned Income Tax (EIT). The Study Group is made of up volunteers from the public. Its recommendation will be weighed by the School Board, and ultimately by the voters who will decide whether or not to support using an EIT to help fund the school district in combination with property taxes. The Tax Study Group has been briefed by Dr. Dave Davare, of the Pennsylvania School Board Assocication, guided by Art McDonnell, the district’s business manager and Board Secretary, …

A proposal that could cost everyone who earns a paycheck in Tredyffrin and Easttown (whether you live here or commute to a job here) between an average of one and three thousand dollars will be the topic of a Tax Study Group public meeting Thursday at 7pm. The earned income tax proposal is something the T/E School board is considering to close a projected "budget gap" of about 14 million dollars over the next five years. The board voted in June to raise taxes by 3.77 percent for the current school year. That amounts to about $171 for the average property owner in T/E. The proposed Earned …

In June, the T/E School Board approved a 3.77 percent tax increase for the current school year. It amounts to an average $171 tax increase for property owners in the Tredyffrin and Easttown. That pales in comparison to what is now being discussed to raise enough money to avoid a huge projected budget shortfall that looms over the district in the next five years. Just as one budget is passed, the next is already being debated. Phrases like “budget gap” and words like “deficit” are spoken on a near daily basis. Those who’ve been around long enough to get the lingo know what’s coming next: tax …