2025-2026 District Budget
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The June 9, 2025 Budget Vote
The June 9, 2025 Budget Vote
The board majority’s cowardice, shortsightedness, and refusal to compromise will have very costly consequences for students, teachers, the district’s reputation, and taxpayers.
A projected deficit* for the 2025-2026 school year (for the first time in 15 years) led to the need for a millage increase. An increase would have helped prevent or decrease the deficit and likely would have cost taxpayers less in the long run. It’s cheaper to prevent a deficit than it is to dig out of a hole. An increase now also would have helped prevent program and staff cuts, which are now inevitable. (*Financial forecast provided by PNC)
Some projections suggested a need for a 9 or 10% increase. Dr. Brian Miller, PR superintendent, recommended a more conservative 4% increase. When the board majority balked at that, Dr. Miller then compromised with a 2.1% increase request, which would not have prevented a deficit but would have eased the impact. Unwilling to compromise, the 5-member board majority chose the cowardly route — no millage increase. And they did this against the advice of administrators, the district’s financial manager, the conservative board treasurer with 12 years of board experience, a board member with degrees in finance, and PNC projections.
How does PR compare with other districts in Allegheny County?
Pine-Richland has not increased the millage rate since 2017. It’s been 8 years. As of 2024-2025, Pine-Richland had the 3rd lowest millage rate out of 40+ school districts in the county. A 4% increase would have still have left PR at 4th lowest in the county. A 2.1% increase would have amounted to less than $12/month for owners of a home valued at $350,000. That’s less than a basic burger and fries at Five Guys.
The costs of kicking the can down the road.
This has happened before: The last time PR faced a similar deficit (2009-2010) and wasn’t proactive in heading it off, the board had to increase by 8.46% the following year and an additional 4.14% increase two years after that. That’s a total increase of nearly 13%. But this board wouldn’t even consider a 2.1% increase to prevent a repeat.
If you think that’s a one-off, consider two other school districts that kicked the can down the road and fell into a financial hole:
Norwin School District was forced to make drastic cuts, including the near elimination of full-day kindergarten, the loss of numerous elective courses, and significant reductions to their acclaimed band program. They are also now grappling with severe structural issues at their stadium, so critical that OSHA has declared it unsafe.
Chartiers Valley School District is facing a precarious financial situation, teetering on the edge of state financial management. They have already been compelled to lay off approximately 10% of their teaching staff and are now proposing limitations to student transportation.
Let’s go back to those 8 lucky years without an increase. That was possible due to:
Smart fiscal planning by past boards;
Smart fiscal management by district administration; and
A consistently growing tax basis from construction of new housing plans.
So what has changed? It’s not spending; it’s a lack of revenue.
Construction of new housing plans has now stalled.*
PR has lost over $50 million in tax basis over 2 years due to property reassessments.
Charter schools and voucher programs are a money drain.
Costs have continued to increase over the last 8 years, as one would expect. The uncertainty and constant flux of tariff threats has already made some vendors hesitant to quote projects and/or increase their quotes, as we heard in the June 9 discussion of Chromebooks.
*Example: Baldwin school district hasn’t had a new neighborhood plan built in decades. As a result, they’ve needed to raise the millage rate 5 times in the last 7 years. Millage increases are a necessary norm in a static environment.
We must face our new reality.
Whether we like it or not, PR has entered a new norm. The unfortunate truth is that there is no reality in which our millage rates will not increase. Rather than pretending this isn't true, we should be working to head off or at least minimize the impact.
Any school board that actually cared about our students, teachers and schools would have approved at least a small millage increase to prevent worse problems and costs down the road. Instead, the board has put the quality of our students' education, teachers' jobs, our community’s reputation, and taxpayers’ dollars at risk.
Through their irresponsible June 9 vote, the majority members of the school board showed their lack of foresight, unwillingness to compromise, and refusal to act in the best interests of students, the district as a whole, and taxpayers. ALL OF US WILL PAY THE PRICE in the next few years — particularly our students.
Overview and Related Information (posted prior to June 9 vote)
Overview and Related Information (posted prior to June 9 vote)
As Pine-Richland prepares to head into the 2025-26 school year, the 5-4 Christina Brussalis-led majority on the Pine-Richland School Board indicated they would not take action on a looming budget shortfall. This decision not to address the issue raised serious concerns about future financial stability and educational quality of our district.
Helpful Links
Act Now, Save Later: Why we believe a small millage increase now would save taxpayers more in the long run
Administrators' presentation slides from the May 12 finance meeting
Watch our video of the administrators' presentation slides with highlights
Deep Dive: See the numbers presented at the May 12 finance meeting
Projections Chart: scroll down
Capital Funding Plan: The Next 10 Years
News Story: Pine-Richland moving forward with no property tax increase over superintendent's warnings
Report: The Impact of School District Quality on Residential Property Values and Community Reputation. Sources cited and local school district examples included.
The immediate financial picture
Current budget gap: The district is currently facing a budget shortfall of just under $2 million for this year.
Short-term solutions: To avoid a property tax (millage) increase this year, the board intends to cover this gap by:
Implementing increases in activity fees, ticket prices for events, and parking fees.
Utilizing the district's fund balance, which is essentially our accumulated savings.
Fund balance context: While the district's fund balance stands at approximately $29 million, it's important to note that significant future expenditures are already planned, including $20 million in capital projects over the next four years and $2 million in mandatory PSERS (Public School Employees' Retirement System) contributions.
Projected long-term consequences
Escalating deficits: Without establishing a recurring revenue stream (like a tax increase), the district is projected to face a deficit of approximately $4.8 million in the next budget year alone.
Difficult choices ahead: To address this growing deficit in coming years, the board will likely be forced to consider:
A substantial property tax increase, potentially exceeding the state-mandated Act 1 index (some projections suggest a need for around a 10% increase; even a 4% increase would still leave a $2.5 million shortfall).
Continued withdrawals from the fund balance, which will eventually necessitate borrowing funds (costly) or implementing significant budget cuts.
The compounding effect: Delaying action on recurring revenue now will only make the financial challenges more severe in the future, similar to the principle that starting retirement savings earlier is less financially burdensome.
Impact on educational quality: The ongoing financial strain will likely lead to:
Reductions in student programs and extracurricular activities.
Potential teacher furloughs (layoffs), with an example of 10.5 positions being cited, which would increase class sizes.
A general risk to the district's standard of excellence.
Fund balance depletion timeline: If the current approach continues, the fund balance is projected to be dangerously low, around $500,000, by the 2028-2029 school year, leaving the district with minimal financial reserves.
Unpredictable costs: A significant factor adding to the uncertainty is the volatile nature of medical insurance costs, which can have large and unexpected increases, as highlighted by a recent 17% increase experienced by one board member’s company.
Irresponsible board actions
Delayed deliberation: Serious budget discussions should have happened months ago, not just weeks before the final budget vote is scheduled.
Misplaced priorities: The board majority has dedicated excessive time and resources to a manufactured problem — revising a library policy that worked well — at the expense of addressing financial planning.
Political considerations: The board majority is clearly avoiding potential tax increases before this year’s elections for political reasons, neglecting their fiscal responsibilities. In fact, Christina Brussalis, who is up for re-election this year, did not comment a single time at the May 12 finance meeting.
SUMMARY: The Pine-Richland School District is on a path toward significant financial challenges if proactive measures to secure recurring revenue are not implemented. The current strategy of relying on short-term fixes and delaying difficult decisions will likely result in substantial negative consequences for student programs, staffing, and the overall financial health of the district in the coming years.
A Cautionary Tale of Two Districts
& Pine-Richland's History
A Cautionary Tale of Two Districts
& Pine-Richland's History
Other districts in our region have faced serious repercussions after choosing the path of a 0% revenue increase when faced with a coming deficit.
Norwin School District was forced to make drastic cuts, including the near elimination of full-day kindergarten, the loss of numerous elective courses, and significant reductions to their acclaimed band program. They are also now grappling with severe structural issues at their stadium, so critical that OSHA has declared it unsafe.
Similarly, Chartiers Valley School District is facing a precarious financial situation, teetering on the edge of state financial management. They have already been compelled to lay off approximately 10% of their teaching staff and are now proposing limitations to student transportation.
Joe Cassidy: "Our most important job as a board is to make sure the district is financially strong and stable."
Board treasurer Marc Casciani: "We must act. Otherwise programs will be impacted."
Superintendent Brian Miller: "I would not call this a 'bump in the road.' It's a sinkhole, and we don't know how big it will get."
Dr. Miller: "Some districts operate on a year-by-year basis, fighting for their survival. We don't want to be in that position. We can make small changes now to prevent that."
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