BUFFALO TWP — A requirement by the state Department of Education equals a slight real estate tax increase for township residents.

Ryan Manzer, Freeport School District business manager, explained that PDE this year is requiring school districts who educate students in multiple counties to make the taxes collected in each county uniform.

To meet that requirement, the school board approved a tax increase for the Butler County residents of the Freeport School District, but not residents in Armstrong County, Manzer said.

Freeport School District covers Buffalo Township in Butler County and Freeport borough and South Buffalo Township in Armstrong County.

Buffalo Township property owners who pay an annual $3,000 in school taxes will see an increase of about $62, Manzer said.

The school board approved the 2.1 percent tax increase for Buffalo residents earlier this month, when it voted 5 to 4 to approve the final 2018-19 district budget in the amount of $32.7 million.

Dan Lucovich, school board president, said on Wednesday that he, Barbara Toy-Gaydos, Michael Huth and Frank Borelli voted against the budget because they favored the option that would increase Buffalo taxes by 4.3 percent and 2.1 percent for Armstrong, which is the maximum increase allowed by the state.

The four wanted the increase because of future needs included in the district's 5-year projections.

Lucovich said voting for budgets in a year-by-year mindset often results in cuts and a decrease in programs, while planning ahead provides a district with the funds it needs to give students an exceptional education indefinitely.

“Planning is the key,” Lucovich said.

He also said a strong school district attracts home-buyers and allows a community to grow.

Lucovich said because of decreased state contributions to the budget and nearly nonexistent federal contributions, the burden unfortunately falls on local taxpayers to fund school districts.

The five board members who formed the majority vote wanted to minimize the tax increase even in view of the needs in the projection, Lucovich assumed.

Board member Richard Hill Jr. voted in favor of the budget along with Frank Prazenica, Christine Davies, Melanie Bollinger and John Haven.

Hill said he voted for the minimum tax increase that would equalize Butler and Armstrong for the district because Freeport has the highest millage rate in Butler County.

“We're at 142 mills and next is Seneca Valley at 123 mills,” Hill said. “South Butler is at 94.”

Hill said the 5-year plan Lucovich referred to includes expenditures that outpace revenues by $1.5 million to $2 million.

“You can't tax people enough to cover those deficits because your expenditures are too high,” Hill said. “The future says you better cut costs because you cannot tax your way out of the problem.”

He said the teachers' state retirement plan, which school districts have no control over, will continue to pose a fiscal problem during each year's budget discussions.

“We need pension relief from our state Legislature,” Hill said.

Another budget option would have been a 5.3 percent tax increase for Buffalo Township taxpayers and 3.2 percent for Armstrong. The amounts were approved by the state when the district filed for an exception to the state maximum increase for Freeport, also called the Act 1 threshold.

None of the board members favored that option.

Lucovich and Hill said when PDE required equalization of tax revenue last year, Armstrong County residents saw a slight increase in taxes.