FOXBURG, Clarion County — The Allegheny-Clarion Valley School Board approved a preliminary budget containing real estate tax increases for residents living in Butler and Venango counties, and tax decreases for residents living in Armstrong and Clarion counties.

Butler County residents’ property tax rate would increase 3.3 mills from a current rate of 65.2 mills to 68.5 mills per dollar of assessed value for the 2018-19 school year. Taxes on a property with an assessed value of $50,000 would increase by $165.

The tax rate in Venango County would increase by 1.1 mills from the current rate of 11.8 to 12.9 mills.

Armstrong County’s tax rate would decrease from 33.7 to 32.1 mills and Clarion County’s rate would decrease from 61.3 to 58.5 mills.

Board members unanimously voted in favor of the budget May 21. A final vote is expected at the next board meeting June 21.

To calculate the tax rates, the district uses a formula based on the total market value of the property in each county, which is set by the State Tax Equalization Board (STEB), in proportion to the property value of the entire district, according to Nicole Reigelman, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

That’s according to a section of the state School Code, which says that each year a multicounty school district must rebalance or recalculate its real estate tax rates in each county based on the latest market valuation, which the department receives from STEB.

The market value changes every year, so each county’s proportion in the district also changes.

“A-C valley is the only district in Pennsylvania that is smack dab in the midst of four counties,” Superintendent David McDeavitt said. “That’s a unique situation that we have. We work with four different CYS (agencies) and four different state police (stations).”

The budget raises the tax rates by 3.2 percent, which is the maximum increase that can be imposed without a ballot referendum, McDeavitt said.

He said the tax increases will generate $101,000 in revenue from both counties where taxes increased.

Revenue from taxes paid by Butler County residents is $499,548; revenue from Venango County is $1.6 million; revenue from Armstrong County is $310,630; and revenue from Clarion County is just less than $1.1 million, according to the budget.

Total revenue from real estate taxes minus Homestead exemptions is $2.9 million and total revenue from local sources is $4.9 million.

Revenue the district receives from the state is $9.3 million and $479,075 comes from the federal government. Total revenue is $14.7 million.

Expenditures include $9.4 million for instruction, $5 million for support services, $2.4 million in fund transfers and $361,782 for student activities and community services, according to the district budget.